Hi I have been following with interest the thread on paper verses digital records. In the early days I began by digitising my filing cabinet of paper record copies thinking I was doing the right thing. As an experienced computer user I should have known better. Fortunately I did not physically destroy my filing cabinet full of paper records as an unfortunate incident wiped my digital records, including family tree, back ups etc out completely. I was devastated, but I learnt a lesson. It took me almost 2 years of hard work to get back to almost where I had been when the incident took place.
I still fervently digitise my paper records, but I keep hard copies on and off site of every record I digitise. This also helps preserve my originals which are in the filing cabinet and shortly to be moved to an archive. I back up regularly using a variety of media. This is the hardest part as the media is constantly changing and my files just keep on getting larger. I keep my family tree file backed up on an external drive and carryout regular backups to the drive. Once a month I back up the external drive onto CDs or DVDs depending on the size of my file. My multi-media files (images etc) are in a separate file on an external drive and I follow the exact same pattern as for my family tree files. I am under no illusions regarding the vulnerability of my data while it is on a computer now or in the future. Barring fire, flood or earthquake, paper is my preferred medium for data storage in the long term. It does mean I end up with a lot of paper and paper and I do not always get along very well, but I have learnt my lesson. As I work in an archive I have copies of my paper and digital files stored in the archive which I regularly update. I do not think I can do much more than that to preserve my records for future generations. What they do with them is up to them. Garry Enter the drawing for a FREE Legacy Cruise to Alaska or a FREE research trip to Salt Lake's Family History Library. Open to users of Legacy 6 Deluxe. Enter online at http://legacyfamilytree.com/FreeTrip.asp Legacy User Group guidelines can be found at: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp To find past messages, please go to our searchable archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/legacyusergroup%40mail.millenniacorp.com/ For online technical support, please visit http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/Help.asp To unsubscribe please visit: http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/LegacyLists.asp
