A pile of manuscript papers

The National Library of Australia is unable to provide specialist advice about how to look after personal collections of papers.

There are however a number of resources which can assist you in keeping your archives in their best condition:

  • the National Archives of Australia have an extensive range of fact sheets in their Preserving information section. Their website also includes information for family historians on looking after your family archive
  • the Australian War Memorial has a useful range of online leaflets about Conservation, including one on Documents
  • the book Keeping Archives is a useful guide for archivists which covers the key archival principles of original order and provenance. Trove can help you find a copy of the guide at a library near you.
Manuscripts