Preservation for Kids

Resources for introducing young people to the importance of preserving objects and information for the future.

America's Young Archivists: The K–12 Web Archiving Program

Students from around the country are participating in a new program sponsored by the Internet Archive and the Library of Congress to help archive the Web. Using Archive-It, students decide what websites to capture and attach a brief description to every site they archive so that people in the future will know what the sites are about and why the students selected them.

This video profiles an eight-grade class from the James Moran school in Wallingford, CT, the website-collection choices the students made and their resulting awareness of how websites require active management to ensure their ongoing accessibility.

 

Make Your own Book and Tell Your own Story

(Elementary school)

Through a series of brief videos available online, Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord teaches viewers how to make an accordion book, a "hot dog" book, and a "stick and elastic" book.

Hot Dog Booklet
Stick and Elastic Book
Accordion Book

How to make a hardcover mini art journal
This ten-minute video goes through the steps to make a small book using decorative paper, cardboard, glue, and computer paper. The use of an awl and sewing needles make this an ideal project for teens but not young children.

The Single-Page Folded Book Activity
Instructions for folding

Storybookonline.net
Storybook Online Network is a storytelling community for children. Their goal is to create, develop, and disseminate original short stories for (and by) children.  The site features content in written, audio, animated, and video presentations.

Books to Check out @ your library

Book Making

The Book Book: A Journey into Bookmaking
Pietromarchi S. Benini, (2007)

Making Books That Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Pop Up, Twist, and Turn: Books for Kids to Make
Gwen Diehn, (1998)

Look at My Book: How Kids Can Write & Illustrate Terrific Books
Loreen Leedy, (2004)

Book History

Book
Karen Brookfield and Laurence Pordes, (2000)

The History of Making Books: From Clay Tablets, Papyrus Rolls, and Illuminated Manuscripts to the Printing Press
 (1996)

Our library
Eve Bunting and Maggie Smith, (2008)

The Storyteller's Candle
Lucía M. González and Lulu Delacre, (2008)

The Shelf Elf
Jackie Hopkins, and Rebecca M. K. Thornburgh, (2004)

The Library Pages
Carlene Morton and Valeria Docampo, (2010)

Encouraging Preservation Awareness in Children

Archival Products News

This short article by Andrea Rolich suggests that proper book handling is best taught through modeled behavior.

Importance of Early Preservation Education

California Preservation Program
This article suggests that as children learn respect for other’s property in their homes and schools, this can carry over to their use of library materials. Includes a useful chart of Basic Do’s, Don’ts, and Why’s.

Teaching Conservation

Michigan Alliance for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage
Includes links to lesson plans for teaching about conservation and preservation of a variety of collections, as well as other resources related to collection care.

For more resources see Appendix 2: Resources for Children, Teachers, and Parents: An Updated Annotated Bibliography, from the Companion Website to Promoting Preservation Awareness: A Sourcebook for Academic, Public, School, and Special Collections by Jeanne M. Drewes and Julie A. Page.