For the next installment in our I.D. This! series, learn about parchment and how we identify it in our collections.

In honor of National Paper Clip Day, we asked for help from our fellow institutions to show off their paper clip and fastener collections.  So.....♪just hold on loosely, But maybe let go, If you cling too tightly, You're gonna cause a hole (tear or rust mark on the document). ♪

As a result of a generous grant, the Archives will soon catalogue and rehouse around 1,750 at-risk audiovisual media related to Smithsonian World.

Our treasures can pose significant—and often unexpected—challenges, like when a map has been attached to a hotel linen. See how our staff tackled a complex intervention in progress!

In celebration of Preservation Week, we’ll take a look at a recently created custom housing for a fragile fabric-covered box found within Accession 18-009.

Deborah Bell, Assistant Collections Manager for the U.S. Herbarium at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 1975–2014, conserved, documented, and made accessible the collection of five million plant specimens. She participated in numerous expeditions, collecting specimens and training local students and staff. #Groundbreaker

Explore our interns’ new techniques for preservation of maps at NMNH: a map transportation tool, a rehousing plan, and training for volunteers.

An unusually serious Halloween post in which we dress up to stage a mock recovery from a museum fire

As another summer intern cycle comes to a close, SIA Preservation intern, Rita Rushanan, discusses the preservation challenges found in the Doris M. Cochran Collection, which she had the chance to work with during her time at the Archives. 

Treatment continues on Paul Bartsch’s field book documenting nudibranchs—see our progress!