I consider myself the family historian: aka, the person in the family who can’t throw things away.

But as of yet, the family has not received much from me.

I have scanned many family documents, including genealogies, letters, photos and videos, into the computer.

But I wonder, what is the best way to disperse my vast array of information to my family.

Certainly, I could give them DVDs with all the data I have collected. And I will do just that. But how often will it be that family members will sit down and go through all that data on the computer?

So, recently I decided that making family photos-with-captions books is the way to go [see last week’s essay]. Family members either individually, or in groups, can now sit down on the sofa together and turn the pages of my books to view as much data as I want to show them.

I still have to deal with some minor issues:

1. Will I try to show ALL family documents, or just those I select as being most relevant and/or interesting?

2. How many books will I make?

3. How many pages will be in each book? If I use 48 lb. double-sided matte paper, I will have a thinner book than if I use two glossy pages glued together, given the same number and size of documents.

Hey. Wait a minute. Where am I going with this?

The point is that I am trying to do something that I believe all of us have wrestled with at one time: Do I save or throw out that “document”? Who would want to see it someday anyway?

How many of you out there have boxes of old letters, photos, video cassettes or DVDs? You’ve thought about what to do with them, right? You’ve thought about who would really want to see them anyway, right? You haven’t yet decided, right?

So, I am trying to convince you to SAVE those documents! Someone like me will likely come along one day, and he or she will be very appreciative that you saved those things. That person will happily tell the story of your family to generations of grateful future family members.

Email me and tell me what’s in your shoebox, at robertebsen@hotmail.com.