Post on 31-Aug-2014
description
A Wealth of ImagesDonald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center,National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OklahomaLaura Anne Heller,Electronic Archivist
Beyond These Four Walls: Optimizing Traditional Collections Through Outreach & CollaborationVRA 30, Albuquerque 2012
The Dickinson Research Center• The Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research
Center serves as the library and archives of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Its mission is to preserve and document the heritage of the American West for the enrichment of the public.
• The Dickinson Research Center is actively pursuing collections of personal papers and business and organizational records that reflect and document aspects of Western history, culture, and art.
• The Center primarily seeks materials in the following five topical areas: Entertainment (Western popular culture), Western Art, Ranching, Native American, and Rodeo.
Image Database Archive (IDA)• InMagic database catalog
from CS/Textworks 9.00
• In October 2004, the DRC purchased Inmagic to develop a web-based database of images held in the Center.
• In September 2005, the Image Database Archive was accessible to online users.
• http://imagedb.nationalcowboymuseum.org/InmagicGenie/opac.aspx
Edit Record Screen
Image Database Archive(IDA)• The public records
include a watermark on the JPGs & some metadata concerning the photograph.
• Patrons cannot download via IDA high-resolution TIFs or low-res JPGs without digital watermarks.
Three Rodeo Photo Collections• IDA consists largely of
collections from 3 major rodeo photographers: Doubleday, Helfrich, & Gregory, totaling 131,078 image records for these photographers alone.
• Doubleday and Helfrich collections are in IDA in their entirety: records & images.
• Gregory (85,439 image records) is still being scanned & added to the IDA records.
Native American Photo Collections• Several archival
collections contain photographs of Native Americans: Addison, Cunningham, and Silberman are the largest.
• Addison (77 images) is in IDA.
• Cunningham & Silberman is partially included in IDA, and added when scan-on-demand requests come in. These are larger collections, mostly of copy photographs.
Historical Photo Collections• Some research &
photographic collections contain both original & copy photographs of land runs, early towns, settlements, buildings, etc.
• These are also scanned & added to IDA on a scan-on-demand basis. Many already have records in IDA without the images attached.
Permanent Art Collection• The National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum has a large collection of acquired art, in addition to artwork purchased each year in the Prix de West Art Exhibition & Sale.
• Some pieces from these collections are in IDA, while others are not. Preference appeared to be popularity of artwork and/or artist.
Image Services for Curatorial Staff• Curators at the National
Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum are the primary users of the collections, which provide authoritative reference supporting the exhibits.
• Their requests do interrupt projects, but these usually do not impede progress more than a day. I process these on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Images are provided on a CD, as prints, or in Staff Common folders on an internal secure server.
Image Services for Outside Patrons• I get phone calls, emails,
letters, & faxes for image requests because patrons have found images in IDA.
• About 50% of outside requests are from book authors, magazine writers, scholars, & other museum exhibit creators.
• The other 50% of outside requests are from rodeo performers & their family looking for photos for their personal collections.
Receiving Outside Image Requests• Most calls, emails, letters,
& faxes are sent directly to me because patrons found my info on our website. Others are forwarded to me from the general AskArchives email account.
• I often spend time on the phone providing instruction for downloading & completing the request forms or searching & finding images in IDA, etc.
Use: Museums West• The National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum is a partner of Museums West with 13 other museums.
• Exhibits created by these partner museums may use images from our collections at no cost of fees, etc., as long as image credit is provided.
• Occasionally these exhibits draw interested persons to our photograph collections.
Use: Magazines• NC&WHM publishes
Persimmon Hill Magazine, for which editorial staff will request images for articles.
• NC&WHM also has an agreement with some magazines: Free images for articles as long as NC&WHM has a free advertisement.
• Other magazines pay production & use fees for each image provided & used in article.
Use: Books • A number of authors
research our manuscript collections for primary materials & in the process find photographs that compliment their text.
• Depending on scholarly/non-profit or commercial publishing of the book, the use fees of images may vary.
• This is outlined on our Price Sheet with the Image Request Form.
• High-res images are provided on CD or via FTP Site.
• A children’s book author used images of rodeo cowgirls in a scrapbook-designed book.
Use: Film & Television• Occasionally we receive
calls for use of images in documentaries & television programs.
• Recently OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) requested 6 images of Reba McEntire, her brother Clark McEntire, & radio announcer Clem McSpadden for use in an interview on one of their programs.
Image Request Form
http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/research/cms/Services/ImageServices/tabid/94/Default.aspx
Photographic Collection Workflow1. Collection of photographs, negatives, & related logbooks
or papers arrive. Deed of gift is signed. 2. Director discusses with me plans for the collection’s
digitization.3. Summer interns & staff create an inventory of materials.4. Depending on size of photographic collection, a selection
of negatives/photos is determined to be scanned, if not entire collection.
5. A filename structure is devised.6. Items are scanned as TIFs, saved to secure server, &
JPGs are created for use in IDA.7. IDA records are created based on photo description,
logbook, and/or writing on photographs.8. JPG images are linked to IDA image records. 9. Once collection or selection is scanned, an exhibit either
in a gallery or solely online is created and advertised. An article may be written & sent to museum’s magazine.
10. Interns & staff complete print & online finding aids & link to related collections & online exhibits.
11. Disseminate and Celebrate.
Image filenames• Most photographic
collections are assigned an accession number, RC2012.010.
(RCyear + collection # + item #)
• For every photographic item the filename may read:
• RC2012.010.001• RC2012.010.002• RC2012.010.003
• We have not scanned manuscripts materials such as letters, financial records, etc., only photographic items. Except for a FEW items…
Challenges: Silberman Images• The Silberman Collection
poses an issue with the filename structure. Some artwork, photographs, & negatives have been scanned & numbered.
• However, there’s no existing record outlining the file structure for the entire collection.
• Cannot determine what numbers are safe to use & have not been assigned, and which ones are already assigned to photographs, artwork, & negatives.
Challenges: Silberman Images• Solution: Hire intern to
work solely with Silberman collection to inventory item numbers already assigned, log which ones have been scanned, and identify numbers available to use.
• The collection needs a consistent filename structure.
• Currently, some filenames are correct: 1996.027.0855.TIF
• Others are randomly numbered with collection name: Silberman13.TIF
• Others include the collection accession number, then box+folder number merged, & the item number: 1996.017.11856.06.TIF
Challenges: Consistency• Previous staff cataloged
photographs in IDA before they were ever scanned.
• Some have been cataloged for years & still have not been scanned.
• Preferred order would be to scan photographs, then create IDA record, & update with JPG.
• Currently I prioritize requests for images that are listed as “No Image Available” as the orders come in.
Challenges: Access & Copyright• Some imagery have been
scanned that we do not own copyright on: Lobby Cards, Film Stills, etc.
• Most of this imagery was cataloged & then JPGs attached to the records.
• I’m consolidating image records into one per film title (Example: Belle Starr, 1941)
• http://imagedb.nationalcowboymuseum.org/InmagicGenie/opac.aspx
Outreach: ImagesMost learn about our image collections through:
• Google searches for family names, art titles, artist names, and place names.
• Credit lines in publications, exhibits, etc.
Highlighted photos shared on our Facebook fanpage.
Professor & DRC staff guided introductions to our collections during appointment-made tours.
Outreach: Oral History Interviews
• 2 Oral History Projects:
(1) Rodeo Performers (2) Western
Contemporary Artists
• I create Youtube-compatible brief clips to promote the interview online. These are usually 10 minutes or shorter.
• http://www.youtube.com/NCWHMuseum/
Outreach: Oral History Interviews
Outreach: Oral History Interviews• I share these Youtube links on our Facebook page &
send emails to art professors concerning updates to the interview playlist.
• The Museum also has its own Facebook page, in addition to a Twitter account, so I collaborate with our Public Relations & Marketing departments to share the links and blurbs for updated interviews & playlists.
• Rodeo interviews are announced to rodeo organizations, authors, & related professionals. These are also collaboratively shared across both DRC and NCWHM social media accounts.
Collaboration•A large number of artworks & artifacts
have no visual representation.•Currently, visual images are created on-
demand.•When the Registrar has new photography
scheduled, I am informed.•I can then expect and schedule reminders
to receive these images.•Once received, these images are added to
our Image Database Archive with complete records.
Collaboration•The DRC collaborates with a professor &
college students in his Art of the West course for “extra credit projects.” ▫One semester I assigned small
photographic collections to be scanned & saved according to our procedures.
▫Another semester I assigned 15 minute clips to be transcribed from artist interviews.
•These were moderate successes.
Conclusion
•As a small archives with a big vision, we're always looking for ways to promote & make accessible our collections to a wider audience.