Hi Dan,
Search iPhoto Help files within the Help viewer. You can also go to the Support site online
iPhoto Support
Backing up your iPhoto Library
1. Burn the iPhoto Library folder in the Finder to a CD or DVD
This method will give you a burned iPhoto Library folder that can be copied back to your computer to replace a damaged library. You can also use this method to backup an old library when you want to create a new Library to use as your current library.
insert a blank CD into your internal or external CD-RW drive and copy the iPhoto library to the CD icon on your desktop. When you drag the CD icon to the Trash/Eject button in the Dock, you are given the option to burn the CD. Click Burn and the CD is created. To burn a DVD backup of your digital images, use iDVD and a SuperDrive-equipped Mac
2. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to an external drive formated for a Mac. Do not use this as your only back up as the external can also go bad.
3. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to your iPod in disk mode
4.Creating your own CDs and DVDs for viewing in iPhoto
This method is a great way to back up Albums of older photos or even your entire library if it is small enough to fit on a DVD. This method will give you a library that will mount within iPhoto in the source column to be viewed. To import any images from this library they need to be dragged into your library in the source column.
For the DVD slideshows. Put all the events, special dates in albums.
Open iDVd and create a new project. customize the project.
make a slideshow within iDVd for each event and add the images from the photo media browser.
More info here;
Authoring with iDVD 5
This is just one way to put your images in a slideshow within iDVD to view on a DVD player.
You can also create the slideshow with music within iPhoto, then send that slideshow to iDVD. Keep iDVD open and send the next slideshow to it.
You can put as many slideshows as the DVD can hold.
Lori