Thursday, March 5, 2020

Recap of "Apres Vous" #Genchat Discussion Q3

"Apres Vous" - What Happens to Your Family History Materials?

Participants had a variety of interesting answers to question #3. This summary presents their ideas in no particular order--some thoughts for you to keep in mind when you are making your own decisions about keeping family history safe "apres vous."

Q3: Should you give any old photos or artifacts to relatives or institutions now? Why or why not? Participants tweeted:
  • Not giving anything away yet, will digitize and distribute some things at a later date, to family and to an appropriate institution.
  • Duplicates can go to other branches of the family, sharing the info more widely.
  • Donating to an institution means documents and photos will be accessible to other researchers in the future.
  • Giving copies of old photos to relatives now, with stories and context, may stimulate more interest in family history.
  • Consider keeping items of personal interest to direct ancestors, but donating items not in direct line to appropriate institutions.
  • Give away some photos when younger relatives are a little older and more interested in hearing about the family'shistory.
  • If donating to an institution, make sure family knows which items have been donated where.
  • If giving to one relative, be sure rest of family knows who has which photos.
  • Consider providing a bio and/or family tree if donating to an institution.
--
A hearty thank you to Liam "Sir Leprachaun Rabbit" (@leprchaunrabbit) and Christine McCloud (@geneapleau) for hosting #genchat every other Friday. I had fun serving as guest expert for this "apres vous" two-day conversation on Twitter.

No comments:

Post a Comment