Start with one collection you care about: a parent’s stories, a box of photographs or a family occasion. Keep the original material, attach enough context to understand it, and make copies you can retrieve. Then choose what you want to share.
Pick a first project with an end
“Preserve our family history” is difficult to finish. “Identify the people in this album” gives you a task you can complete and check.
| What you have | A useful first project | Where to go next |
|---|---|---|
| A relative willing to talk | Record or write down one story | Family interview guide |
| A box of photographs | Identify one small group of pictures | Digitizing old photos |
| An object with a story | Record who owned it and how it reached you | Family heirloom guide |
| Material already collected | Make a short chapter or booklet | Family history book guide |
Ask the people involved what they want to contribute and who may receive it. If a relative does not want to be recorded, offer notes or simply a conversation. Do not make the archive more important than their choice.
Keep the context beside the item
A filename such as recording-004 will not tell another relative what it contains. Use a short descriptive name and keep a note with the speaker, date, topic and any sharing restriction.
For example, your own record might look like this:
- File:
2026-09-29-anna-first-job.m4a - Speaker: Anna, my mother’s sister
- Topic: Her first job at the bakery
- Date in the story: Approximately 1972; not confirmed
- Recorded by: My name
- Sharing: Immediate family only; ask before printing an excerpt
This is an illustrative record, not a real customer’s story. Use names and dates you can support. If two relatives disagree, retain both accounts with their speakers identified.
Keep originals and make backups
The National Archives recommends retaining original papers after scanning, adding identifying metadata and using a 3-2-1 backup approach: three copies, two types of media and one copy off-site. It also warns against forcing books flat or feeding fragile papers through automatic scanners.
Before reorganizing a collection, check that your copies open. Keep an untouched copy of a recording or scan when you edit a version for sharing. A transcript or compressed image serves a different purpose from the source file.
For physical material, consult the Library of Congress care guides for the relevant format. A photograph, a tape and a textile can need different handling. Seek specialist advice before trying to repair something fragile or irreplaceable.
Choose what readers will see
An archive can hold more than a book should contain. For a first chapter, select a story, an image if you have one, and the context a younger relative would need. Explain who each person is rather than assuming their name will be familiar.
Read a proposed excerpt back to the contributor before circulating it. Keep uncertain details visible. If someone asks you to leave a passage out, update the shared version rather than treating the first draft as final.
Use the family history book template for a simple chapter plan, or browse memory book ideas to choose a format.
Ask someone else to find a file
Ask a trusted relative to find one item from your description and open it. That will show you whether the folder names, notes and access arrangements make sense without your explanation.
Agree who keeps the collection and who else can retrieve it. Keep private files restricted, and review access when circumstances change. The goal is a collection the right people can actually find and use.
Decide whether a service would help
Write down the task before comparing products: inviting relatives, collecting audio, editing text, arranging photographs or ordering print copies. Check the current service’s export options, privacy terms, pricing and delivery limits against that task.
Keepsake is currently accepting waitlist interest. The steps here work with tools you already have and do not depend on a Keepsake purchase. Our source-based comparisons explain options to investigate; they are not firsthand product tests.