The Library of Congress is looking out for more than just their collections of books, maps, and other holdings. Digital assets play an important and unique role for our (non-) national library, and for you at home. Taking steps to preserve them at home can save losing important files later. Here’s an easy how to:
Why Digital Preservation is Important for You
Our personal photos, papers, music and videos are important to us. They record the details of our lives and help define us. But increasingly our possessions and our communications are no longer material: they’re digital and dependent on technology to make them accessible.
As new technology emerges and current technology becomes obsolete, we need to actively manage our digital possessions to help protect them and keep them available for years to come. This video offers simple and practical strategies for personal digital preservation.
-Digital Preservation Video Series, Library of Congress
The YouTube video provides good suggestions for organizing and backing up your files–be they audio, video, photos, documents, whatever–at home with four easy steps, outlined in the Library of Congress digital preservation video:
- Identify files to be saved
- Decide/Select what is important
- Organize the content: Create your personal Archive!
- Save copies in different locations
The video is basic, but useful and clear. Happy archiving!
LIS Lady 