From Your Archive to the Web: Managing the Project

The digitization of the Historic Photograph

Collection of the

Public Library of Brookline

Digital Commonwealth/MLA

Annual ConferenceApril 26, 2011

Why Digitize? Preservation of fragile historic photographs Accessibility Demand for scanned images in particular:

Brookline 300th Anniversary Celebration Public Library of Brookline 150th

Anniversary Publication of the Library’s History:

Public Library of Brookline: A History Celebrating 150 Years of Library Service 1857-2007

Requests for images by Town Agencies and individuals

Getting Started

Identified the collections, the reasons for scanning, benefits for preservation and access

Formed committee with reference staff, library director, trustee

Attended conferences, workshops on digital projects to gain knowledge

Now what do we do???

Next Steps – Phase 1

Selected photographs from notebooks Determined copyright/fair use Who will fund the scanning project? Who will manage the digital images? Presented our proposal to the Board of

Library Trustees for approval

Project Approved by Trustees

Finalized the selection of 207 images to scan

Contacted vendors for pricing Selected vendor Investigated standards for digital images Delivered original photographs to vendor Received DVD with Master tiff and jpeg

derivatives Created duplicate DVD as a working copy

Phase 2 – Glass Plate Negatives Contracted with the same vendor to

scan our glass plate negative collection All images saved to external hard drive Selected 101 images to add to

repository Used same format for entering

metadata as in Phase 1

Metadata

Unique identifier (required) Title (required) Creator Subject Description Date (yyyy/mm/dd) Format

Entering Metadata

Divided responsibility for entering metadata to 3 reference librarians

Metadata entered in spreadsheet Each librarian checked the other entries

making corrections/additions as needed Images and metadata excel

spreadsheet(s) saved to CD and sent to Lyrasis for uploading to Digital Commonwealth repository

Glass Plate NegativesBrookline Photographs Metadata

Glass Plate Negatives

Unique Identifier Title Creator Date Subject Description Type Format Size

BrooklinePL_GPN-

13

Andem PlaceAndem Place, Holtzer Cabot building, fire hydrant, light poles,

View of Andem Place in winter looking toward the parking lot with the Holtzer Cabot building to the right. Andem Place is the street between the dry cleaner and insurance company located on Washington Street in 2010.

photo JPEG 400

BrooklinePL_GPN-

57

Riverdale CasinoRiverdale Casino, Francis Street, Clubs

Architects Andrews, Jaques & Rantoul were hired to design the Riverdale Casino on Francis Street near the Lawrence School. Constructed in 1894, the structure was designed to look like a house. The casino was originally a clubhouse for young bachelors, but later became a family clubhouse.

photo JPEG 400

BrooklinePL_GPN-

85

Brookline Baseball Team - group of boys

Schools. High School; Baseball; Recreation; Sports

Brookline High School Baseball Team. Seated on field on Davis Ave. Coach and nine players in uniform.

photo JPEG 400

BrooklinePL_NS-49B.F. Baker paint shop with men

Buildings Public and Commercial, Small Businesses

Exterior of B.F. Baker paint shop with three men and bicycle in front. Sign behind man on left says "B.F. Baker House, Sign, and Ornamental Painting." Sign above the men says "Painting --

JPEG 400

BrooklinePL_NS-50Brookline Omnibus with people and horses

Horse car, Horses, Omnibus,Transportation

Omnibus (or horse car) -- a horse-drawn trolley. Seven uniformed trolley workers, one small child, and two horses pose in front of the trolley car.

JPEG 400

BrooklinePL_NS-65 John Devine's shop

Buildings Public and Commercial, Liquor Licenses and Sales, John Devine

The storefront of John Devine liquor store with people posed in front of it. The number above the doorway is 368. The words in the left window read "Rueter and Co's Highland Spring Sterling Ale." The words in the right window read "Alley's East India Stock Ale."

JPEG 400

Suggestions When proofing entries in the repository we

discovered errors in numbering between scanned images and excel spreadsheet. Be sure to double check everything!

Be careful to put exact numbers in the metadata excel spreadsheet to correspond with images - punctuation and case count

Not all images scanned from glass plate negatives were suitable for inclusion in the project due to cracked glass and/or image degradation

When unsure of image subjects know who to contact for assistance—Historical Society, Preservation Commission, reference staff, etc.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, consult the experts

Benefits and Pitfalls

Access Storage Software upgrades Contacts and links to helpful websites

Inability to edit and update content Lack of control Unforeseen copyright issues Partnering with other agencies

Useful contacts, web sites Digital Commonwealth

www.digitalcommonwealth.org

Lyrasis http://www.lyrasis.org/Products-and-Services/

Digital-Services/Digital-Commonwealth.aspx

Hirtle Chart http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/resources/

publicdomain.cfm A guide for determining when images enter the

public domain in the United States.

Presented byAnne Reed and Anne ClarkPublic Library of Brookline

617-730-2369areed@minlib.netaclark@minlib.net