Here is another reason why we need to digitize as many records as possible as quickly as possible. Digital records won't REPLACE the originals but having extra copies will certainly help PRESERVE information in case the originals are damaged for any reason.
Officials in southern Idaho's Lincoln County are taking steps to deal with a rash of paper-eating insects blamed for destroying a collection of historical documents.
Lincoln County Clerk Suzanne McConnell says volunteers discovered the damage as they were working to digitize old, paper records, including court judgments, birth certificates, marriage licenses, land deeds and permits. The records - some dating back to the 1930s - were all kept in the vault below the county courthouse.
You can read the complete, sad story in an Associated Press article published in the KVAL.com web site at http://goo.gl/1jQNX.
My thanks to W David Samuelsen for telling me about this story.
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