The Importance of Preservation
The Importance of Preserving Historical Photos and Documents
Connections to our past are important to developing and maintaining our sense of place, a sense of personal and local identity, and often add to our individual sense of purpose.
Why Preserving Images of the Past is Important
At some point in our lives, most of us will come to realize that our lives are more closely connected to generations past, present, and future than we may have believed when we were young.
Sense of Place Reflected in Photos and Documents
Local histories, natural features of a given landscape, and a local and/or regional cultural heritage all combine to provide a person in a particular location with a somewhat unique sense of place.
This unique sense of place, and a clearer understanding of how our family ancestors influenced our thinking and our personal history can help create a satisfying sense of belonging and connectedness.
This is why locations and eras are given names for their uniqueness, and this is why nearby towns and cities develop curious sports rivalries. We simply tend to identify with a location and a group of people who share a culture, heritage, and the same sense of place and identity.
Regional architecture, such as white houses with green shutters in New England, is as much about preserving a regional sense of place as it is about conforming or utility of design.
Preserving the Past
Preserving our sense of place is at the heart of why it is important to both preserve and share images of our family and community history and heritage. Family and community photos and documents reflect our heritage, and help us to better understand the uniqueness of our family and local history, heritage, and culture.
The better we understand this uniqueness, the stronger is our sense of place and personal identify. Preserving and sharing photos and documents of historical significance provides future generations with the opportunity to best understand their family and community heritage as well.
Why a Focus on Photos and Documents
Family photos and documents are often the most valued piece of a family's history because they provide an image link.
At the same time, local historical societies are often the most important guardian of a community's history, and the photos and documents in their collections provide important background about the development of the community's unique identity.
Even if properly stored, original images will deteriorate over time and perhaps be lost to future generations, if not preserved by duplication. Clearly a desired goal is to extend the useful life of original photos and documents.
However, in the long run, the historical image is more important than the paper on which the original image was placed. Today, inexpensive and "user friendly" technology is available to easily create duplicate digital images of photo and document originals. These digital files are then available as long term backups and provide a broad range of image sharing possibilities.
