The Importance of Preservation
Conserve, Preserve, or Restore. What is the Difference?
The terms conserve, preserve, and restore are often confused, and actually have different meanings when applied to varied situations.
Conservation of Photos and Documents
When discussed in the context of land, conservation is most often thought of as responsible use, such as limitations on logging activity.
Conservation, when applied to discussions of historical artifacts, is most often associated with activities that prolong an artifact's life in its original state. Therefore, conservation of historical photos and documents relates to proper storage and handling of originals. In many cases, this emphasis on the useful life of the originals would limit the ability to share the images by restricting public access.
Preservation of Informational Content
When used in the context of land, preservation normally suggests keeping land as it was found, which may include invasive species.
When applied to photos and documents, preservation is most often associated with activities that "preserve" the informational content of the original. This may include duplication of the image information in a different format. An example would include scanning photo prints to create digital image files.
In preservation activities, there is an implied recognition and acceptance that the image is perhaps the most important artifact, not necessarily the paper on which it was originally printed. Duplication and reformatting are generally acceptable preservation activities.
Restoration
Restoration is typically associated with activities that "restore" an artifact to an appearance of a prior state. Restoration, for example with furniture, may involve adding or substituting materials. As restoration applies to photographs and documents, one might edit a digital image to correct blemishes.
Conserve and Preserve Historical Images
In the case of family and local historical society photo and document collections, it is likely that there will be two objectives:
1.) As conservationists, you should continue to properly store and handle original photos and documents to maximize the useful life of the originals, in their original format.
2.) As preservationists, you should seek to capture photo and document informational content in the most convenient ways, including alternative formats, to preserve the images beyond the expected useful lives of the originals.
LocalArchiver.Com advocates a digital approach to photo and document preservation projects and activities. Digital backups are a flexible and inexpensive means to create an archive and to dramatically expand the ability to share important and treasured images.
