RIP VHS (Technological Obsolescence)

November 25, 2006

Obsolescence is the process of becoming obsolete, out of date, unusable. Technologies are always changing, and some formats simply don’t make the cut. Take a moment to think about what this means for the long term survival of your family treasures. The article below is a bit tongue in cheek, but still right on the money. And if you have home movies on VHS, you might want to think about having them transferred to DVD sooner rather than later.

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Posted: Tue., Nov. 14, 2006, 8:00pm PT
VHS, 30, dies of loneliness
By DIANE GARRETT

After a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old. No services are planned. Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult childhood as it was forced to compete with Sony’s Betamax format. VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs.

Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953955.html

The World’s Fastest Librarian

November 1, 2006

Hello and welcome to the first installation of The Practical Archivist blog. I’m launching with a funny little film created here in my home town by library students.

The World’s Fastest Librarian follows Mary the Librarian as she prepares for the World’s Fastest Librarian Competition in Madison, Wisconsin. At twelve minutes, it’s a tad long — but if you’re a librarian (especially a graduate of UW-Madison SLIS!) and you have a sense of humor about your profession you will have more than a few chuckles.

From the creators: “This movie was a labor of love and is meant as a tribute to librarians everywhere.”

Librarians Rock!!

Reliable Preservation Information

Ask my Preservation Answer Machine any question you want, then use the links provided to find expert advice about how to care for your treasures. From places like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. Click Here

Are you ready to DECLUTTER your overwhelming photo collection and get the gems (the "keepers") out of that shoebox and into your life, already?
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The Joy of Organizing Photos is exactly what you need.
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You get a whole month of classes with me live by phone, plus another chance per week to ask a live question via chat.
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Can't make a live call? No worries. A downloadable mp3 recording will be posted within 48 hours.

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P.S. Absolutely, positively no scrapbooking required. It's fine if you want to, but fussy layouts with 3D thingies is not at all what Joy of Organizing Photos is about.
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So. Important question: Is there room in your Spring 2010 calendar for a date with your photos? If so, you should join us. Not only are we gonna have a blast, I promise you it will be rewarding in ways you haven't even thought about yet.
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Stay tuned!

FREE E-BOOK!

Are you saving your scans as jpeg files? Bad idea. Get your free copy of my popular e-booklet 8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photos and How To Avoid Them All when you sign up for my email list. Click here