Q. I suffered a fire/flood/insect problem at home, and need to clean and do minor repairs to my books/photos/papers. Can you tell me where to start?

If you have materials damaged in a natural disaster or other accident, try these resources: 

• Members of the public who have questions about saving family heirlooms can email the National Heritage Responders at NHRpublichelpline@culturalheritage.org  
• HENTF’s Save Your Family Treasures guidance is available at Save Your Family Treasures | FEMA.gov. Here you can find the downloadable FEMA fact sheets “After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures” and “Salvaging Water-Damaged Family Valuables and Heirlooms,” available in multiple languages. 

For information on storing your family documents and heirlooms more safely, see these guides:

• https://calarchivists.org/Publications/Preserving_Your_History