I just took another gander at a blog post I wrote on August 16, 2012, called How I organize my family history research. I still organize my research papers the same way I described in that post–my filing system has withstood the test of time.
But what really jumped out at me was this paragraph:
…I have to tell you that I’m a paper person. I know I could (and perhaps should) save documents, like census images, as pdfs and just organize them on my computer. But I really like printing them out and keeping them in files. So that’s what I do.
I’m pretty happy to report that times have changed. I’ve created an electronic file system that allows me to find documents on my computer easily (though I’m still discovering files that haven’t been properly named or filed). So now I don’t feel the need to print everything and put them in files. It’s positively liberating.
That means my files are available wherever my laptop is. (Or my iPad, since much of my genealogy research is also stored in Dropbox.) I can do research from any room in the house, or any room in the world, for that matter.
Back in May, I extolled the virtues of going paperless. I am so happy that my need to print is vanishing!
Yes, my paper filing system is working well. But these days, I use it only for retrieving documents I filed there in the past. I’m just not adding to it. And that’s okay by me!
I wish I was brave like you cousin. I have 9 boxes of paperwork. Some inherited from family, some purchased online (books & discs,) some downloaded and finally 4 boxes of family photos.
It’s an overwhelming task & I successfully put it off.
I fear losing all of it because of computer failures if I go paperless. But considering how often I get into it – I probably wouldn’t know I’d lost it.
Can I clone you & bring you over to my study for 2-3 months?
Thanks for commenting, cousin! I don’t fear storing my data electronically, because I back my hard drive in two ways: in the cloud and on an external hard drive. So I think my electronic data are actually safer than that stored on paper, which is unprotected against water and fire.
I completely understand how you could feel overwhelmed by all the resources you have to process! I always recommend breaking big tasks down into tiny steps. I wish I could come help you in person!
What would happen if there was no internet service or your computer crashed, etc. I think it’s great to do all your research and go digital, but I am a BIG “what if” person and like to back EVERYTHING up on paper.
Gale, I download everything to my hard drive and back it up to an external hard drive and to the cloud. So my computer, hard drive and the internet would have to crash simultaneously in order for me to lose everything. If I stored all my research exclusively on paper, my “what if” questions would be, “What if my house caught on fire?” and “What if I had a flood?” There’s no foolproof method, but I feel very safe with a double-backed-up digital system.