In
this rapidly changing digital age it can be confusing what to do to
keep family photos and documents safe and secure for future
generations.
Digital
files can easily get damaged or lost just like old photos and
documents. Hard drives can fail, computers get a virus, laptops get
stolen, phones lost, dodgy datasticks stop working, CDs or DVDs get
scratched, or the technology moves on and we no longer have a DVD
drive... Ahhh! What to do?
A big start is to spread
things around around: share your items and digital files with all
those who matter!
Here's
a quick list of some storage filing and updating ideas...
Physical Storage
Physical Photos
- Handle with care - wear gloves and avoid touching the photo images
- Store photos in a safe environment – acid free materials and away from light, heat, and damp. Avoid “Magnetic albums” and unknown or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics. Avoid glue, staples, paper clips, or cellotape
- Make digital copies of your photos – with a scanner, camera or phone
- Give family members printed copies of your favorite images
Physical Documents
- Handle with care - some may be old and delicate
- Store documents in a safe environment – acid free materials and away from insects
- Make digital copies of your documents – with a scanner, camera or phone
- Give at least one family member printed copies of your favorite family historical documents
Heirlooms and family stories
- Take photos of family heirlooms
- Make a text file with a few sentences explaining the heirloom's origins
- Add metadata to the heirloom digital files
Handy website: www.archives.gov/preservation/family-archives/storing
Digital Storage
Moving digital data from
obsolete software formats or storage media to contemporary apps or
media is time-consuming. Select your favourite items to save and keep
them as safe as possible.
Digital Photos
- Make printed copies of your digital photos
- Decide upon a backup system you can use to add to and update your photo/document collection
- Store at least one complete set of your image archive on a hard drive
- Store at least one complete set of your image archive at an off-site location
- Backup at least one set of your image archive on a safe cloud service like Dropbox or Flickr. ( www.dropbox.com www.flickr.com )
- Store a complete set of your image archive with a family member or friend
- Label your photos/documents with a relevant title/name
- Create a relevant folder system with clearly labeled folders that would be easily understood by a stranger in 100 years time
- Save a folder of Original images (untouched) and a folder of Adjusted images (copies that are cropped/touched up ready for printing)
- Add metadata to digital files to aid future generations
- Make sure others have access to your collection if needed (your passwords, devices, and files)
Digital Formats
- Save images and text as standard file formats, avoid saving as software files (software becomes obsolete quickly)
- Save images as JPG (or JPEG), or TIFF, or PNG files – at the best quality possible
- Save text files as TXT and PDF files – and any other relevant formats
- Avoid opening and saving JPG files – they will lose quality each time