Digital archiving; Preparing for the worst… preparing for the future

What would happen if one day the basement flooded, or God forbid, your house was to burn down or any other natural disaster were to strike your home? You may have homeowners, fire, flood, or disaster insurance. Your home may be rebuilt, the furniture and appliances replaced; but what about you’re precious memories; photos, slides, personal videos, home movies, audio, and important documents? They could be gone forever. In fact if you were to ask anyone who has ever experienced such a tragedy they would tell you that the most painful part of surviving such a disaster short of losing a loved one is the loss of precious memorabilia. Fortunately I have not had to endure this kind of loss first hand but I have had friends who have experienced such a loss. It soon struck me how important it really is to for people to protect what is truly important in their lives…they’re memories.

The answer to this dilemma is really very simple. Digitally back-up your precious photos, videos, documents and other items dear to you and store them in a safe place. I know this is easier said then done. Many people don’t have the time, energy or know how to undertake such an endeavor. That’s where the services of an experienced digital archiver can be invaluable. Professional Digital Archivers can take your valued memorabilia and save it digitally to high quality, long lasting DVD media which has an estimated shelf life of 75 years or more.

Securing your precious memories from disaster is not the only reason to digitally archive your precious memorabilia. Wouldn’t you like to keep all of your cherished photos, slides, videos, home movies and documents intact and unchanged for generations to come? Digitally archived items remain unaltered. What is saved today will look the same years from now. Paper documents yellow, photos fade, and video deteriorates. You cannot count on these objects to survive the test of time but you can count on you’re digital archive to.

Whether you retain the services of a professional or do the archiving yourself it is imperative to create multiple backup copies and store them in a safe place. I strongly recommend storing at least two copies in a safe deposit box at your local bank. These storage facilities are generally fire proofed, temperature and humidity controlled but you should inquire just to be safe. Another option is to take multiple copies and distribute them amongst family and friends. They should store them in a cool, dry place in the home; the more people who store a copy of your digital archive, the greater the chance that it will remain undamaged over time.

As you can see having a digital archive is an excellent way to preserve your precious memorabilia. So gather up your cherished photos, slides, video, home movies, documents, etc., have them digitized and store them in a safe place. You will never be sorry you made the effort but you may regret it if you don’t.

About the Author

Jay Corrao is the founder and president of Memory Archivers, a video production company based in Apple Valley Minnesota. His company specializes in wedding and event videograpy, video biographies, and consumer digital archiving.

www.memoryarchivers.com
jay@memoryarchivers.com

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