All That Paper!

As a genealogist, one of the things I have to deal with all the time is how to manage all the paper:  photos, vital records, letters, queries, census pages, photocopies....  The paper just piles up. I've been researching for 40 years or more, so I have collected a lot of paper.  I thought I'd write a little about how I deal with it all.

One of my paper weights.....

I started doing genealogy back in the dark ages (1970s) before the dawn of the internet.  Heck, it was even before personal computers were available to everyone.  I did most of my research by writing query letters.  I kept track of things in 3-ring binders full of family group sheets, pedigree charts, and lots of notebook paper.  I still have some of those pages, but most of the binders have been taken apart and the information entered into my computer's  family database.

Over the years, my system for managing all the paperwork has evolved.  I used to keep paper logs of what queries I'd written, what responses I'd gotten, what I'd discovered, etc.  All of that tracking has now moved to my computer database.  I add notes to a person's record reminding me of clues to pursue, information or documentation I'm missing, and queries I've written.  The program I use is very flexible and allows me to add whatever I want to customize it for my needs.  It continues to evolve.

But I still have lots of paper.

I've gone from this.....

... to this....

I suspect every researcher has their own way of managing their files.  I know a lot of genealogists sort their files by family, but that has never worked well for me.  There are just too many family lines I'm interested in.  Some people use color coding.  When I first started, I had notebook sections for each ancestor.  That quickly got unweildy.

I then moved to numbering the document and filing it.  I still use a variation on that method.

Here is my process:

If it is an original document, such as a photo or a letter or pages from a bible or anything not a copy, I scan it and put the original in a plastic sleeve and put that in an archival storage box.  I have archival boxes for each main family group.  I keep these in my office near my desk, although I seldom dig out the originals, so they could actually be stored elsewhere.  Anyway, bulky items such as framed photos and certificates or family bibles, go in large flat plastic storage boxes that I keep on shelves in the garage. 

Once I have the scan of the document, I print it out for my files.  Each item gets a number as I enter that source into my computer database.  That number is the current year and the chronological item number.  So right now, I am ready for document 2017-88; in other words, the 88th document that I have entered into my database in 2017.

I create a source item in my database.  That source item includes that item's number in its description.  So maybe the item is a birth certificate for John Q. Smith.  The description for that source might be:  "Birth Cert: Smith, John Q 2017-88" and I write that source number on the copy I've printed.

Also as part of the source item in my database, I note where the original item can be found (for example: Beach Family Archival Box) .

So.  The original is safely stored away.  The copy has a file number.  The source has been set up in my database with the file number and the location of the original.

The scanned file of the document on my computer is given the same file number as part of its file name; so for example:  2017-88 Birth Cert Smith John Q.  That scan is moved to a special folder on my computer.  My genealogy program allows me to link the source I've created to the scanned document file, so I do that.

Then I enter whatever data I need to off the document, always noting the source.  I usually link the data I enter to the scan file, too, just because the way my computer program is set up, it allows me to quickly see the item that way.

So now when I look at John Q. Smith, I can check to see what the source is for his birth information by looking at the sources I've cited and can see at a glance the scanned image of his birth certificate.  I can find that scan easily, if I need it for any reason.  I file the paper copy in simple numerical files in filing cabinets in my office, and can also find it easily by referring to the number I've given the source.

For documents that are not originals (downloaded items from the internet or photocopies of newspaper clippings, etc.), I follow much the same procedure, but without putting the item in archival storage.  The file on my computer and the paper copy get the same number as the source citation created in my genealogy software.  The image file is linked to the source citation.  As I do data entry, I cite the source.  When done, the paper copy is filed.

There are, however, some documents that I don't bother to scan into the computer.  Examples might be photocopied pages from books or some other researcher's family data or print-outs from indexes of vital records.  For those items, I just give them a number, write it on the paper, create the source citation with the matching number, enter the data citing the source, and then file the paper in my file cabinet.

I regularly back up my genealogy program to a separate hard drive.  When I do that, I also back up the computer folder where the image files are found.

As long as I am consistent with this system, I can easily see what my sources are for any piece of information and can easily find that source either in my paper files or on my computer.  While I'm sure everyone has their own system, this is one that works well for me.  Perhaps there are elements of it that others might find useful.