Lawrence Central Rotary’s own Audrey Coleman spoke on her work as Head Archivist at the Dole Institute of Politics and discussed the importance of preserving personal digital records. The Institute honors Senator Bob Dole “by promoting political and civic participation in a by-partisan and balanced manner.” The Institute provides educational displays, archives and programs to achieve this mission. Audrey reported that Dole is active at 91 years of age and frequently consults with staff members of the Institute. The archivists receive about 300 research requests a year. Researchers may work on site or hire a local researcher. Finding aids have been created to assist researchers including a key word search that identifies specific folders of information.
Audrey noted that the explosion of digital information is both a benefit and a challenge. Unfortunately, digital images and documents can be easily misplaced or can deteriorate and become lost forever. The following steps were recommended to preserve valuable digital records. First, identify your most important digital files and their location. Next, save the highest quality versions with multiple copies and tag the files with dates and names. Finally, store the results on computer, CD, DVD, thumb drive and utilize an Internet storage company. Saved files should be reviewed annually and copied to new media every five years. Commercial firms can assist with this process.
In closing, Audrey urged people to attend an event at the Institute to celebrate the opening of a new display commemorating the 25th anniversary of the passage of the American Disability Act. The event is on Sunday, July 26, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
