The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick is offering their document recovery services to residents who were affected by the recent St. John River flood.
Staff will stabilize and recover documents, including diaries, letters, maps, architectural drawings and other paper-based items, as well as photos printed on paper, tin or glass. The service will focus on drying and stabilizing documents, and restoring or copying originals, as well as mould remediation, if required.
Most repairs of single documents, including photos, will be provided free of charge. Larger document recovery projects will be quoted on a case-by-case basis.
“The service offered by the Provincial Archives can help New Brunswickers save what might have otherwise been lost in these trying times,” said Roger Melanson, president of the Treasury Board, which is responsible for the Provincial Archives. “Recovering precious documents is a small but important part of helping affected New Brunswickers return to normal after this flood.”
“We encourage New Brunswickers who fear their precious photos and documents have been lost to the flood to contact us,” said Fred Farrell, director of the Provincial Archives. “We can advise you on how best to prepare the document for us for recovery.”
Interested individuals may contact the Provincial Archives online or call 506-453-2122.
The New Brunswick Museum has published the guide Salvaging Your Treasures. Once residents have clearance to enter their home after the flood, the guide provides advice on how to handle objects submerged in flood water.
Conservation staff from the museum are also available to talk to New Brunswickers about preserving family heritage material which has affected by the flooding at 506-643-2351.
Thanks to Dick Eastman of Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter for sharing the story on his blog.
