Will You Go Full Digital?

Genealogy is a hobby that takes an investment of time and effort.  Would you like your investment to be paid out into the lives of future generations who will treasure it? Or might your efforts be callously tossed in the trash by people who don’t know or don’t care? Even if you have few or no relatives to receive your work of love, historical societies are often thrilled to acquire well-done family histories.

Paper and pencil versions of family trees are worthy of appreciation, certainly. Files of documentation might be perused if it’s easy to figure out who is who. Drawers and drawers of paper records are unlikely to be maintained.
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Here’s what I call “Full Digital.”

1. You build your family tree on your computer, using a quality genealogy software program.
2. You set up folders on your hard drive for photos, documents, and reports.
3. You scan (or photograph) all hard-copy documents.
4. You use my file naming system so that you can quickly retrieve whatever item you’re seeking.
5. You fill the folders on your hard drive with images of the source material.
6. You don’t save or file hard-copy backups except for actual documents like wedding licenses that are more artifact than mere document.
7. You learn how to download source material from the Internet and label it according to the system before storing it on your hard drive.
8. You learn how to get photos moved from your camera to your hard drive. 
9. You develop and maintain a backup system and schedule so that you don’t lose all your work to fire, theft or computer gremlins.

We’re so blessed to be alive in the age of technology.  I pity predecessors who were stuck with paper and pencil. Let’s give future generations something special in a way they can easily use and enjoy it.