This inventor is familiar with numerous devices and systems that are intended to be used for information storage. Throughout the history of the printed word, and the development of art, use of the either artistic media or print media has created an immediate need for storage of the documents containing those words and images. Sometimes, however, it is not the images or the words of the documents themselves that need storage, but the memories of another time or place that they bring their owner back to. The device of the present invention provides an easy and effective storage mechanism to preserve those memories.
In order to meet the demand created by this need to store documents, inventors have developed devices such as folders, expandable files, briefcases and even wheeled folders. One of the major drawbacks of every device of which the inventor is aware is that prior storage devices fail to effectively accommodate items of different sizes.
In the experience of the inventor, parents and grandparents often wish to recapture memories of their children's and grandchildren's school years by saving relevant mementos from that period of time.
Specifically, this inventor, herself a parent, is aware that schoolchildren complete voluminous amounts of schoolwork for each year of school, participate in plays and music programs that are memorialized by programs, audiotapes and videotapes, receive report cards, get school pictures and yearbooks, are featured in newspapers and, in general, produce a lot of miscellaneous memorabilia during each year of their schooling.
In the experience of the inventor, parents, as well as their older children, often wish to keep some memorabilia recording the experiences of their own or their children's experiences in order to help them to recapture the moment. Also in the experience of the inventor, previous storage devices are unacceptable primarily because of their failure to accommodate both large items such as artwork and small items such as floppy disks. Additionally, some types of documents, such as report cards and theatre programs, need extra care to prevent loss or damage.