Scrap booking is a method for preserving written family history in the form of photographs, printed paper items, and memorabilia contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks.

Scrapbooking with photographs has been around since photos became available to ordinary people.Old scrapbooks tended to have photos mounted with photomount corners and perhaps notations of who was in a photo or where and when it was taken. They often included bits of memorabilia like newspaper clippings, letters, etc. Modern scrapbooking has evolved into creating attractive displays of photos, text, journaling and memorabilia.

The most important scrap booking supply is the album itself, which like a three ring binder allows for insertion of pages. Other basic materials include background papers, photo corner mounts, scissors, art pens, and mounting glues.

People have been scrapbooking since printed material became available to the average person. Some of the earliest and most famous American scrapbookers include Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain