{"id":5146,"date":"2019-03-06T09:28:10","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T14:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=5146"},"modified":"2019-03-07T09:41:06","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T14:41:06","slug":"how-can-i-preserve-my-familys-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/how-can-i-preserve-my-familys-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Q: How Can I Preserve My Family\u2019s History?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a familiar scene for so many today\u2014basements full of old photo albums, attics overflowing with home movies, smartphones bursting at the seams with selfies and videos. Chaotic? Sure. But put them together, and what you have is valuable family history. \u201cWhether you\u2019re preserving your family\u2019s stories to pass down to your children, or you\u2019re planning to donate your photos or keepsakes in some way, all of these stories make up a narrative worth saving,\u201d says Melissa Ziobro, a specialist professor of public history. But how to do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to paper documents like photos, keep them comfortable. \u201cMost of these family collections get stored in the basement or attic because that\u2019s where there\u2019s room,\u201d says Ziobro. \u201cBut these are the worst possible places for them\u201d since there is minimal control over temperature and humidity. A good rule of thumb, she says: \u201cIf you wouldn\u2019t be comfortable in your basement or attic, the documents aren\u2019t comfortable either.\u201d Also, it\u2019s best not to use paper clips or staples, which can rust and destroy the documents over time. Instead, use acid-free folders and papers, and keep the documents as flat as possible to avoid putting any unwarranted stress on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to storing the original copies properly, Ziobro recommends investing in an inexpensive scanner to create digital versions. Just be sure to capture a high-resolution image\u2014one that is at least 300 dots per inch, and possibly 600 dpi if the scanner is capable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For images born digital\u2014smartphone photos, for example\u2014Ziobro recommends printing and backing up the images in the cloud or on a thumb drive. \u201cHave as many different versions as you can,\u201d she says. \u201cThis goes for printed and digital files.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while images and documents can tell a valuable story, Ziobro says we shouldn\u2019t underestimate the value of the spoken word. Collecting oral histories can be a fun and informative way to make the past accessible for future generations. \u201cIt\u2019s so much more relatable because we\u2019re hearing from people in their own words and cadence,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd since we\u2019re hearing from people who aren\u2019t in the history books, we\u2019re getting different perspectives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that it\u2019s easy to get started capturing your family members\u2019 personal histories. Chances are you already have an app on your smartphone that can record crystal-clear audio. Ziobro says it\u2019s best to start simple. \u201cEven if I\u2019m interviewing grandpa about his Korean War service, it can be hard to jump right in there,\u201d she says. \u201cStart at the beginning with \u2018When and where were you born?\u2019 It\u2019s a simple question and sets the context for the interview.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oral histories, photos, and videos make great family keepsakes, but Ziobro encourages families to share them with museums, historical societies, and oral history archivists. \u201cPeople tend to be humble and think that no one cares about their story, but that\u2019s just not the case,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to know what the average person in New Jersey was doing during World War II. The only way to get that is to hear these \u2018average\u2019 stories.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n

The 10-Second Bonus Question<\/h4>\n\n

What’s Worth Donating?<\/h2>\n\n\n

A national organization may be interested in military uniforms, while local groups would love to preserve a scrapbook of memories from the neighborhood. Many archivists welcome recordings or interviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ask a question of our faculty experts, email magazine@monmouth.edu<\/a> or mail Explain This, <\/em>Monmouth magazine, Alumni House, 400 Cedar Ave., West Long Branch, NJ 07764.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa Ziobro offers advice on how to keep your family’s memories alive for future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents","issue":"Spring 2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5146"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5899,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5146\/revisions\/5899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}