In this day and age of the internet and so much media information at our fingertips, I just wanted to ask all of you your opinion on maintaining a vertical file in the library. Is it even practical these days? Darlene Earnhardt
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I no longer keep this file. It has served it's day when the net came it became unnecessary. What a nice thing that we no longer have to deal with any of that.
Thank you Rita. I agree. I appreciate your reply more than you know. I have decided to keep the vertical file for historical information so that maybe I will someday soon be able to entice someone or maybe even myself to write a history of our church. In Christ, Darlene Earnhardt
If you don't already have one, you probably don't need one. If you have one, decide based on how often it is used. If you're not sure how often it's used, perhaps making a notation on the file or putting a Post-it on the item with the date of each use would help you determine that a year (or several years) from now. If it takes up more than one file drawer, see if you can condense it down to what's useful. Many of the items may be obsolete.
Unless the items have historical value (your church history? Major celebrations?) or have information that is not available via the Internet, you probably don't need it. (Don't toss those items you'll want for a 50th anniversary, etc.).
For those unfamiliar with the term, a vertical file (a filing cabinet with several drawers, often in a vertical arrangment) is/was where pamphlets, brochures, newpaper clippings, etc. were filed in the days before the Internet.
Thanks Joanne: That is basically what I have been doing but I sure do value your opinion on this. I have about 4 drawers full and it has been in existance for approx. 40 years. way before the internet! In Christ, Darlene Earnhardt
Replies
Rita Kirkland
Unless the items have historical value (your church history? Major celebrations?) or have information that is not available via the Internet, you probably don't need it.
(Don't toss those items you'll want for a 50th anniversary, etc.).
For those unfamiliar with the term, a vertical file (a filing cabinet with several drawers, often in a vertical arrangment) is/was where pamphlets, brochures, newpaper clippings, etc. were filed in the days before the Internet.