Backing up itunes and iphoto

I have a mac mini (iPhoto '08) and a macbook (iPhoto '06 ) that have some separate and some of the same photos. I was wondering what is the best way to back up each library and how to do that. Also,
1) If I just back up each library to an external hard drive, would either library open in any version of iPhoto or would the '08 library version need iphoto '08 and so on...?
2) When you back up an iPhoto library to a separate hard drive, do you have to have iPhoto to open that backup file or can you use..say preview to view them?
Same question for iTunes. I have iTunes on both the mac mini and the macbook which are not synced completely with each other due to running out of hard drive space. What is the best way to make a backup of each library from each computer or should/can I make just one backup of both libraries on a separate hard drive without duplicating and songs.
Thank you for your help.
Jimmy

Just a comment:
1) If I just back up each library to an external hard drive, would either library open in any version of iPhoto or would the '08 library version need iphoto '08 and so on...?
A newer iPhoto version can open older iPhoto Libraries, but not vice versa. And after a newer iPhoto has opened an older iPhoto Library, the older version will no longer be able to open it.
What is the best way to make a backup of each library from each computer or should/can I make just one backup of both libraries on a separate hard drive without duplicating and songs.
That is impossible. Backing up two machines and avoiding duplicates are mutually exclusive goals. A backup should be a safety copy of your system that allows you to restore the system as it is. So it will contain duplicates from files on other machines, if there are duplicates on both machines.
The simplest solution to your backup problem would be to setup Time Machine  on both computers  to regularly backup your macs to an external drive. Get separate drives for both machine and let them connected, and all will be automatic, for iPhoto and for iTunes as well.

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