Our Company
Patient work with the things families keep.
— ✦ —Heritageford was established to help Malaysian families bring order to the printed records, books, and documents that accumulate over a lifetime. We work carefully and without hurry.
Back to HomepageOur story
How Heritageford began
— ✦ —Heritageford grew out of a practical observation: many families in Malaysia find themselves, at some point, responsible for a house full of books and papers that belonged to an older relative. The books might be valuable, or simply well-loved. The papers might be personal letters, household accounts, or official documents. Whatever they are, they deserve some form of recorded attention before decisions about them are made.
The founder, having spent a number of years working in document management and archival consultancy, recognised that the families who needed this kind of help were not looking for a specialist institution. They were looking for someone who would come to the house, handle things carefully, and produce a clear written record that the family could hold onto.
We began by working with two or three families in the Klang Valley. The work was quiet and unhurried — exactly as it needed to be. Word reached other families, and Heritageford grew from there. We have worked with collections ranging from a single shelf of cherished volumes to rooms full of accumulated papers going back several generations.
Our educational resources — the Heritage Reading Card and the Inventory Workshop — came later, in response to families who wanted to understand the process better before engaging anyone. We wrote the reading card because we kept answering the same questions, and it seemed better to have the answers written down in a form families could keep.
Our mission
To give families a clear, respectful record of the books and papers they hold — and the knowledge to manage those materials themselves if they choose to. We do not advise on regulated matters. We document, organise, and educate.
What we value
Patience, plain language, and respect for the objects in our care. We value the trust families place in us when they invite us into their homes. We take that trust seriously and do not exceed the scope of what we offer.
How we work
We discuss the collection before any work begins. We describe what each programme involves and answer questions honestly. If our programmes are not the right fit, we say so. The family decides the pace. We follow their lead.
The team
The people who do the work
— ✦ —Rafikah Noor
Founder & Lead Archivist
Trained in document management with over fourteen years of experience working with private family collections across the Klang Valley.
Chong Lee
Catalogue Coordinator
Responsible for the typed catalogue entries and printed deliverables. Brings a background in library science and a very tidy handwriting.
Suraya Mahmud
Workshop Facilitator
Leads the Inventory Workshop sessions with patience and good humour. Particularly skilled at helping people make decisions about what to keep and where to put it.
How we work
Our working standards
— ✦ —Careful physical handling
Books and documents are handled with cotton gloves where appropriate. Nothing is moved without permission, and fragile materials are noted for the family's attention.
Accurate written records
Each catalogue entry is checked for accuracy before the final document is produced. We do not rush the written work. The catalogue is the deliverable, and it needs to be right.
Discretion with private materials
We are often in the presence of personal correspondence and private documents. We read only what is necessary for cataloguing purposes and keep family information strictly confidential.
Clear scope of work
We describe exactly what each programme includes before any work begins. We do not expand the scope without discussion, and we do not advise on matters outside our remit.
Photographic documentation
For the Bookshelf Archive Programme, each item is photographed for the digital archive. Photos are taken with a proper camera and are delivered as organised digital files.
Educational accuracy
The Heritage Reading Card and Workshop materials are reviewed regularly to ensure they describe current, accurate general practice. We do not present educational content as personal advice.
Our approach
Archival work for Malaysian families
— ✦ —Many Malaysian families hold collections of books, printed materials, and personal papers that have accumulated over several generations. These collections are often of real interest to the family — recording a relative's reading habits, professional life, or personal correspondence — but they are rarely in any particular order, and there is seldom a written record of what exists.
Heritageford works at the point where a family decides to bring some order to these materials. We are not a rare books dealer or a removal company. We are not advisors on regulated matters of any kind. Our work is archival and documentary: we examine, describe, photograph, and catalogue. The resulting catalogue belongs to the family and can be used however they find useful.
Our educational resources address a related need. Families sorting through an older relative's papers often encounter document types they have not seen before — old correspondence, household inventories, personal identification records — and have no framework for understanding what they are looking at. The Heritage Reading Card and the Inventory Workshop provide that framework in plain English, without touching on any matter that would require regulated professional involvement.
We are based at Jalan Petaling in Kuala Lumpur and are familiar with the kinds of collections that accumulate in homes throughout the Klang Valley and surrounding areas. We work in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Begin with a conversation
We are glad to hear from you.
— ✦ —Describe the collection and what the family is hoping to do. We will explain which of our programmes, if any, might be useful, and how the process would work.
Contact Heritageford