[BCMA] Suggestions for Data Storage Systems

Tue Jan 6 10:21:08 PST 2026

Regarding Data Storage, the Princeton Museum follows a path similar to the
Golden Museum, in that, we have a 4TB NAS on site which is backed up onto
two portable hard drives, one of which is always off site. We also have a
2TB Google Drive account. Traditionally, we had a portable hard drive for
each workstation, as well, but we are migrating towards having anything
important resident on either the Google Drive or the NAS, both of which can
be accessed remotely.

Todd Davidson
Operations Manager
Princeton and District Museum and Archives
167 Vermilion Ave., PO Box 281,
Princeton, BC, V0X 1W0
250-295-7588
Main website: www.princetonmuseum.org
Events website: www.princetonmuseumevents.com
<http://www.princetonmuseumevets.com>
Collection website: www.princetonbcmuseum.com
Email: princetonmuseum at gmail.com

*We acknowledge **the Similkameen Valley **on which we learn, work, and
organize **is the ancestral, traditional and unceded territory of the
Similqmix People, and is home to the **Upper Similkameen Indian Band
<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcafn.ca%2Ffirst-nations-bc%2Fthompson-okanagan%2Fupper-similkameen&data=05%7C01%7Ceoc%40usib.ca%7Cfcadbb901c83497aa9c008da351b00f6%7C8d390933f6dc429e81abc3b43ace9e6c%7C0%7C0%7C637880687333887033%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7YtSzKZMBsucLLagYhuNeppz%2BpsX8NmsVFHtZ0lL6oM%3D&reserved=0>*

On Tue, Jan 6, 2026 at 10:01 AM Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv <
listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca> wrote:

> Hi Charmaine,
>
> We use Google Workspace, which includes 2TB per user of data storage on
> google drive, two 5 TB portable drives that go home with two different
> staff members, and an onsite NAS drive. The portable drives get updated
> biweekly, each one on a different week, and the google drive backs up from
> the NAS daily. We get a discount from google for being a non-profit, and
> with our 10 user accounts it costs us $46.00/m. I know you can set it up to
> be less users as well.
>
> We found this to be the most cost effective for the amount of storage we
> needed, and it came with the added perks of being able to access it from
> anywhere at any time, without limits. I know there are limitations to the
> security it provides, so that may not work the best for your organization,
> but it may be worth looking into.
>
> Hope this helps.
> _____________________________________________________________
>
> *Brittany Newman    **(She/Her**) *       Executive Director
>
> Golden Museum and Archives
> 1302 11th Ave S, Golden BC, V0A 1H0
> <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Golden+%26+District+Museum/@51.2922114,-116.9631953,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5379bf96b43fc203:0x194db531bf58fa85!8m2!3d51.2922129!4d-116.9611077>
> PO Box 992, Golden BC, V0A 1H0
>
> Phone: 250 344-5169
> museum.golden at gmail.com  <museum.golden at gmail.com>  |
> https://goldenbcmuseums.com/
> Join us on: Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/museum.golden/>  |
> Instagram <https://www.instagram.com/museum.golden>
>
>
> The Golden Museum and Archives operates on the territories of the Ktunaxa
> and Secwepemc Peoples, and the chosen home of the Metis Nation Columbia
> River Society. We are grateful for the privilege to work and play on this
> territory.
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 19, 2025 at 1:23 PM Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv <
> listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca> wrote:
>
>> Hello Museum Community,
>>
>>
>>
>> Our little museum is looking for data storage solutions that can house
>> about 5 terabytes off-site. We currently rely on two NAS systems, one on
>> site and another in a neighbouring town,  which have served us well for
>> nearly a decade. Unfortunately, our IT company has relocated and can no
>> longer provide space for the off-site unit, and our NAS systems are aging
>> and may soon need upgrading.
>>
>>
>>
>> We’re also exploring cloud storage options, but the quotes we’ve received
>> from the usual providers are higher than we would like for our budget. Our
>> IT support is investigating other options, but I wanted to reach out to our
>> museum and heritage community to ask:
>>
>>
>>
>> Has your organization found affordable, reliable solutions for off-site
>> storage of large digital archives?
>> Are there platforms, services, or approaches (hybrid storage, academic or
>> nonprofit discounts, etc.) that you’ve had good experiences with?
>>
>>
>>
>> Any suggestions, tips, or lessons learned would be *very* welcome as we
>> work to ensure our digital archives are secure, accessible, and sustainable
>> for the long term. We know we will need to invest in either a new NAS or
>> cloud storage, we are just trying to find the best fit.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you in advance and happy holidays to all of you.
>>
>>
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Charmaine Carpenter
>>
>> Executive Director / Curator
>>
>> O: 604 894-5504
>>
>> M: 778 859-7903
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *I respectfully acknowledge I am speaking from and working on the *
>>
>> *traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Lil’wat Nation. *
>>
>> *Kukwstumckacw, merci, and thank you. *
>>
>>
>>
>> Check out our new VIDEO
>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjX3W6KGwkE&t=11s>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Listserv mailing list
>> Listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca
>> http://lists.museum.bc.ca/listinfo.cgi/listserv-museum.bc.ca
>>
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