Lost to history…or loss of history?

Between car keys, single socks, and marbles, everyone’s lost something at one point or another. Even more common for most of us these days, whether we know it or not, is the loss of digital data – pictures left on an old phone, old email you couldn’t switch to a new account, or files on floppy disks that your computer can’t read anymore. From April 24-30, we’ll be celebrating National Preservation Week with a weeklong exploration of digital preservation. Join us as we ask you to think about what you’ve lost in the digital world, and to consider how you can keep from losing your own history, the history of your family, and the history of our times.

We’ll be posting here each day of the work week, talking about easy and straightforward steps you can take to safeguard your digital content. Also, stop by and chat with us on the Bicentennial Mall, located in downtown Raleigh between the Museum of History and the Museum of Natural Sciences on Tuesday, April 26 from 9-12. All week, you can also tell us what you’ve lost through this one-question poll (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dataloss); we’ll reveal the poll results on Friday at ghlblog.org. Finally, take time to stop by the Government and Heritage Library at the Archives & History Building (109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh) to test your knowledge of obsolete technology with our mini-exhibit, called “Re-DISKover Out-MODEMed Technologies.”

The Department of Cultural Resources has compiled lots of digital preservation information to help newcomers and experts alike at http://digitalpreservation.ncdcr.gov. As always, GHL staff can provide you with digital preservation best practices and training, as well as guidance for digitization. Contact us at digital.info@ncdcr.gov and we’ll help you keep track of your digital content starting today.