preservers

Preserver is a broad term that can denote any person or organization engaged in preservation—protecting artifacts, places, knowledge, or living systems from decay or loss. In practice, preserver is a generic label that overlaps with roles such as conservator, archivist, preservationist, and curator.

In museums, archives, and libraries, preservers conserve artifacts, documents, and artworks; they stabilize, restore, document provenance, and digitize collections to ensure enduring access for future generations.

Preservation efforts also extend to ecosystems, landscapes, languages, and intangible heritage. Preservationists, park services, and community groups work to safeguard biodiversity, sacred sites, and traditional practices.

In food science, preservatives are substances that extend shelf life; the noun preserver is less common, though historical usage sometimes referred to agents or methods that preserve foods through salting, drying, fermentation, or additives.

In fiction, The Preservers are an ancient humanoid species in Star Trek credited with seeding life on many planets. The term has since appeared in broader science fiction to designate protectors of cultures or knowledge.