Preservation & Digitization

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Thanks to generous donations by the Friends of Archives and the Friends of the Outer Banks History Center, the Photo Unit restored Umatic and Betacam SP video players expanding our AV conversion capabilities. These magnetic tape formats were used for professional video from the 1970s to the 1990s. The restored equipment enables us to digitize those materials, part of our ongoing effort to preserve the historical records in our collections stored on magnetic tape, an inherently impermanent medium.

Some of North Carolina’s most valuable historical documents need critical preservation and restoration. We encourage you to consider donating toward our most pressing preservation projects: 

• The Carolina Charter of 1663, considered the “birth certificate” of the state. It has been more than twenty years since the Carolina Charter has been examined, and because the document will be on display in early spring, repairs are necessary immediately! 
• North Carolina’s original copy of the Bill of Rights. This is one of the great treasures of the State Archives and requires ongoing preservation. 
• The Papers of Peter Carteret, Governor of the County of Albemarle. The County of Albemarle is the oldest county government in North Carolina. 

We have raised over $5,000 of the approximate $12,000 needed for the preservation of these documents.