It is important to ensure that your agency can preserve all the record formats it may create. Paper files, maps, photographs – all provide evidence of the decisions made and actions taken as a result of those decisions.

If you are creating physical records that will be required for a long time, you should create them on the best quality media possible. For records created on paper, you should consider using archival quality paper. The National Archives tests and approves archival quality papers, and provides approved products with a trademark. See: Archival quality trademark. For advice on how to choose other media, such as microfilm or photographic paper and how to protect and handle records on these media, see our physical preservation advice, below.

Also see our information on transferring records to the National Archives.

One of the most important preservation techniques is to prepare for things going wrong. See the Disaster Preparedness Manual or our information on planning for business continuity.