#30 Driving in the Dark

This lesson is designed to help library employees use computer storage resources more appropriately and efficiently. We have already learned that enhancing back up drives to protect stored files is not an inexpensive proposition. Because of this, it is important to move work such as photographs to public storage sites when we can. Flickr, Photobucket, and Imageshack are options to consider. It is also a good idea to make a habit of looking at stored work on the library's P, S, and Z drives from time to time to see if any files can be reorganized or deleted.

If I am unsure about whether to delete a file or not, I now know that it is reasonable to keep it for about two years. I can also save files on a CD or USB drive, and thus avoid at all costs the dreaded "to delete or not to delete" angst. The S drive is a place to temporarily park work that I would like to share with others. Those files are deleted if they remain on the drive for over 14 days.

I copied a file from the P drive, placed it on the S drive, and then deleted it. Very easy. My files stored on the P drive are fairly streamlined and organized, and I never use the Z drive, because I didn't know I could. How about that? Usually being in the dark is not advantageous, but today it saved me some work.