CHICAGO – Each year millions of Americans put their family keepsakes at risk because they lack the knowledge of how to store and preserve items. This week, April 23 – 29, is Preservation Week, and librarians and library workers are offering their expertise on how to preserve family heirlooms and collectibles.

This year’s Preservation Week theme is textile preservation, and participating libraries will celebrate by offering special programs and services to connect library users with preservation tools, promote the importance of preservation and strive to enhance knowledge of preservation issues among the public. Institutions around the world also will spread the word by using the hashtag #preswk to showcase their preservation programs and services.

During the celebration, textile designer, teacher, author and Preservation Week Honorary Chair Franklin Habit will share his expertise on how to preserve family heirlooms and treasures. Textile preservation tips are available at http://bit.ly/2p1tTE2.

“There is no greater honor than to work alongside expert librarians and library workers who are transforming lives through education and lifelong learning, said Habit. “As an enthusiastic preservation-novice who is tasked with safeguarding multigenerational family treasures, I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with the public as I work to preserve fabrics and patterns from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Sponsored by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of the American Library Association, Preservation Week was created in 2010 because some 630 million items in collecting institutions require immediate attention and care. Eighty percent of these institutions have no paid staff assigned to collections care, and 22 percent have no collections care personnel at all. Some 2.6 billion items are not protected by an emergency plan. These resources are in jeopardy should a disaster strike. Personal, family and community collections are equally at risk.

Preservation Week is a registered trademark of the ALA. For more information regarding Preservation Week visit https://www.ala.org/preservationweek.