Website source copy
A saved copy of the website code and its history.
Preservation & succession
Preserving the collection for the future
Original files, provenance and permissions are preserved separately from the website. This allows the public collection to be rebuilt while keeping its sources intact.
Preservation
What we preserve
- Original files
- Original files, preservation copies and acquisition records are kept separately from the website. Downloadable images are usually copies prepared for viewing.
- Catalog records
- Object IDs, provenance, evidence status, uncertainty, credit, rights and treatment notes remain attached to the record and are exported together for recovery and review.
- Website source
- The saved website source allows the public pages and viewing copies to be rebuilt. Temporary build files are not retained as archival records.
- Checking file integrity
- Checksums (SHA-256 file fingerprints) and read-back checks are used to verify saved copies. The current release is identified separately from earlier versions.
Recovery records
Rebuilding the public archive
A recovery package brings together the website source, catalog and records needed to check and restore them.
Public catalog export
JSON, CSV or XLSX metadata carrying identifiers, permanent URLs, evidence status, uncertainty, provenance and rights.
Manifest and checksums
A human-readable inventory plus SHA-256 values verified after the package reaches its backup location.
Custody and rights notes
What is family-held, institution-held, licensed, restricted, interpretive or available only as an access copy.
Private recovery record
Domain, hosting, account-recovery and emergency contacts kept securely outside the public package and outside source control.
Succession status
Long-term custody remains to be arranged
No museum, library or memorial institution has agreed to take custody of this archive or assume responsibility for its future. A successor, emergency authority and access to recovery instructions still need to be established in a signed private agreement.
The institutional information packet describes the public collection, its rights and questions for a possible transfer. Any gift, loan or transfer of custody would require a separate agreement.
Adding to the collection
How submissions are reviewed
Before adding a photograph, story or file to the public collection, we record its source, ownership, custody, permissions and any privacy restrictions. Receiving a copy does not transfer ownership or by itself establish publication rights or verify its contents.
- Record who supplied the material and when.
- Preserve the submitted file unchanged and use a checksum to verify its integrity.
- Document ownership, custody, publication permission and restrictions.
- Identify the item and its related pages or files before assigning an archive number.
- Create any web derivative separately and disclose its treatment.
Private or restricted submissions remain outside the public catalog. Material with unresolved identification or source questions is assessed individually.
Page citation
If you cite this statement
Reichenbach Family Archive. “Preservation & Succession.” Updated 13 October 2026. https://www.reichenbacharchive.org/preservation.