# How to store old writings?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 18, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406 "2007-06-18T01:39:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406/1 "2007-06-18T01:39:30Z")

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Hey all! Advice wanted…  
I have some old writings, and I’d like to figure out the best way to store them. They’re in plastic storage boxes from Target right now, but it seems like there MUST be a better way. They’re pretty much all on notebook/looseleaf paper and written in pen (a few in pencil, unfortunately!) How could they best be preserved, and where? Oh, yeah… they mean more to me than any material thing I own, including all the mutual funds and the annuities, so, yeah, they’re fairly important. 😉

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406/2 "2007-06-18T08:25:47Z")

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I’ve been sorting out my aunt’s affairs and that’s included papers over 40 years old. Mostly they’ve been simply lying around. I found papers from the 1920s belonging to my grandfather, too. Simply left in a box file. The only documents which were in bad condition were those exposed to dust and light. So simply put your storage box in a dark place and leave it there. But for heaven’s sake, organise them.

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**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406/3 "2007-06-18T09:35:17Z")

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However you end up archiving them, I would also be sure to transcribe/scan them into a digital format.

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**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2007, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-old-writings/408406/4 "2007-06-18T09:51:38Z")

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Maybe one of these [links from the Cornell libraries](http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/publications/index.html) would help.