How to transfer a copy or duplicate of my iPhoto library to an external hard drive.

I would like to save a copy of my iPhoto library on an external hard drive (InfoSafe) that has been reformatted to Mac OS Extended file system (journaled).  I want the photos to be moved in the same Events they are in and with all of their metadata. 
Then I want to delete some of those pictures or events from iPhoto on my computer.   I am using OS X 10.8.5 and my iPhoto '11 9.4.3.  Once I do this and make sure it works and everything is where it is supposed to be, can I just stick the hard drive in a safe place for years?
Thank you.
Wendy

Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
Once I do this and make sure it works and everything is where it is supposed to be, can I just stick the hard drive in a safe place for years?
No. Hard Drives are volatile and can be damaged. Over time the connection protocols change - USB 1 to USB 2 to USB 3. Firewire is almost dead and so on - and HDs fail. Multiple, redundant back ups are required. And when a back up is a copy of two drives at least, you won't have an actual back up for any of the material you then remove from the laptop.
For long term archiving I use Flickr. Then backing up the photos becomes their problem but it works in other ways as well - images available from any computer, as future-proof as just about anything is, and you can set the privacy protocols to keep the material private.

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