Infographic: Preserving Our Past at the National Archives

The National Archives is home to billions of documents that are important for both record-keeping purposes and to preserve our nation's proud history. Records exist in a wide variety of formats including paper, animal skin, photographs, film, sound recordings, and more. Each of these storage formats requires a specific storage environment to ensure they remain undamaged and can withstand the test of time. Without these carefully created storage environments, many of these records would degrade and be lost forever.