Preservation

The National Archives aims to make sure that records in a wide variety of media, from medieval parchment to digital tapes, remain in a good condition for present and future use. We guide visitors on how to handle documents. Our expert conservation team uses immense skill and the latest technology to look after the records and we advise other British institutions on best practice.

One of our duties is the preparation of a preservation policy explaining all this in detail.

Developments in technology mean that we have also had to devise ways of saving 'born digital' records in many formats in our newly created Digital Archive.

We try to guard against all risks to the archive. Our team here controls storage, environment, housekeeping and the training of staff. If a disaster did happen we have a risk management framework in place that will ensure the minimum of damage to records.

To find out more about preservation at The National Archives, visit the preservation section.