tales from the field discovering hidden collections in the agsl's photo archives

Discovering Hidden Collections in the AGSL's Photo Archives

Krystyna K. Matusiak, krystyna.matusiak@du.edu

Library & Information Science Program, University of Denver

Tales from the Field

“Hidden”Film-Based Photographic Collections

Digitization at the AGS Library

The American Geographical Society Library (AGS Library) http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/AGSL/index.cfm Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee-Libraries

Digitization of image and map collections since 2001

Digitization at the AGS Library

Saving and Sharing the AGS Library’s Historic Nitrate Negative Images http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/digilib/NEHgrant/ Two-year project (2010-2012) Preserving and providing access to over 69,000 nitrate negatives Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities

The pilot project – 2008 4,000 film negatives Harrison Forman Collection Expeditions to northern Tibet

Tibet: http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/digilib/tibet/index.cfm

Visual Resources in Library Collections

Barriers to Access

Documentary Photography Photographic prints

A small percentage of visual materials in library collections

Barriers to Access Organization of analog image collections

By original creator The lack of subject access

Barriers to Access Inaccessible analog image formats

Glass plates Film negatives Slides

Barriers to Access The lack of item-level description in original source collections

Digitization of Visual Materials

Removing the BarriersExample: The Harrison Forman Collection

The Benefits of Digitization Expanded access to primary sources

Extended search capabilities of digital text The potential to integrate resources in multiple modes of

representation The ability to bring together scattered research materials

Making available a new body of historical evidence The conversion of visual materials recorded on difficult-to-access

analog formats Providing item-level description of digitized resources Discovery of “hidden” collections

Removing the Barriers Access to the visual content

Changde (China), refugees await to receive assistance at an assembly after the Battle of ChangdeThe Harrison Forman Collection. American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries. http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/u?/agsphoto,9797

Removing the Barriers Providing item-level description and access points

Harrison Forman (1904-1978) An adventurous American journalist,

photographer, and explorer A member of the American

Geographical Society (AGS) His extensive photographic

collection (30,000 film negatives + 4,000 prints + 50,000 slides) is housed at the AGS Library

The film negatives have been digitized as part of the preservation project funded by the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH)

Harrison Forman in China

Harrison Forman in Tibet

Harrison Forman in Poland

Harrison Forman in Poland Arrived in Warsaw late August 1939 Captured images of the city just a few days before the war

broke out Documented the outbreak of the World War II Evacuated from Poland at the end of September through

Romania Managed to get out some of the film rolls (20% according to

his estimates)

Bringing to Light the “Hidden” Collection

Providing Item-Level Indexing

Unique Images

Unique Images

Bringing Together Scattered Materials Photographs

Prints Negatives

Newspaper clippings Articles Forman’s diary

Providing Online Accesshttp://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/digilib/pol/index.cfm

Revisions