nicole gaston 11 september, 2008 central library, national university of laos mcgill university,...

Nicole Gaston11 September, 2008Central Library, National University of LaosMcGill University, Montreal, Canada

Digital Preservation Strategies for Local Information Resources and Heritage Materials:

A case study of the Notman Photographic Archives at the McCord Museum, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Introduction:Why preserve local information resources?

Globalization and the development of information communication technologies encourage borderless interaction.

Cultural heritage information may be lost, if steps are not taken to ensure its longevity.

Preserving elements of a society’s cultural heritage is essential to preserving the national identity or cultural identity of any group.

The local knowledge, history, traditions, and cultural heritage of a society are what make it unique and distinctive with regards to the rest of the world.

While many people might see globalization and the emergence of these news technologies as threats or enemies to traditional knowledge, in fact this technology can actually be a powerful tool for preserving local information.

The potential of digitization technology for preservation of heritage materials

Digitization can be an effective preservation tool Written materials can be scanned and converted into

searchable text documents. • Opitical Character Recognition software (OCR) can turn typed and

handwritten documents in many different scripts (Including Thai!) into modifyable text documents.

Audio materials, such as oral histories, interviews, and traditional music can be recorded digitally, and stored electronically for future reference.

• As a great deal of traditional knowledge is unwritten and transmitted primarily orally, new technology can provide access to this oral material to people all over the world.

Digitization is just one type of preservation strategy.

• While current research literature and trends focus on this method of preservation, it is not necessarily the best or most feasible method in every situation.

• Conservation of the original document is one aspect of preservation, whereas the preservation of the content of the document may be more important or feasible in certain cases.

• Paper and Photographic materials are extremely sensitive to their environments - providing appropriate storage facilities and limiting usage of the materials are generally the most effective preservation methods available.• Certain types of materials, such as magnetic audio and video

cassette tape, is inherently unstable, and even under ideal storage conditions, will deteriorate. In the case of unstable media, reformatting (digitization in most cases) is the only was of preserving the information stored on the unstable media.


In humid, tropical climates, such as South-East Asia, paper documents and photographic materials tend to deteriorate at a faster rate than in cooler climates. Situated on the southeast African coast, the University of Natal’s

Campell Collections of photographs is comprised of some 30,000 images documenting late 19th and early 20th century life in South Africa, and suffers from an accelerated rate of deterioration under humid, sub-tropical conditions. The university has taken an aggressive approach to the digitization of the collection, before the materials are deteriorated to such an extent as to render them unusable by scholars (Peters 49).

However, experts recognize the importance of preservation of the originals even with a digitization plan in place. “Without proper storage of the original historical photographic albums, the effect is largely window-dressing. It is extremely important to develop a strategy for preventative conservation (Peters 51).”


Two-fold benefits of digitization: Preservation

• Reduced handling of the original items slows deterioration• Preserves content of document in digital format

Access• Increased access and availability of resources in a format

not subject to physical deterioration, multiple users can access at the same time, etc.

The benefits of the creation of e-libraries or digital archives for local information resources: Digitization of heritage materials allows researchers all

over the world to have access to otherwise unavailable data


The availability of online heritage materials is especially important within the context of the South-East Asian Diaspora.

• Many children of immigrants from ASEAN countries have been born and raised in countries such as the USA, Canada, and Europe. These children may never have the opportunity to visit the country of their ancestors, and grow up immersed in a different culture. The availability of heritage materials online would offer them the opportunity to learn about their cultural heritage from anywhere in the world.

However, it is extremely important to note that digitization requires a significant amount of resources and management to be an effective preservation strategy, and on its own digitization cannot be the sole method of preservation employed by an archive or library.

The importance of meta-data in digital preservation strategies

Photographs, and other documents may have no value unless associated with information about the owner, originator, or the subject that makes the images worthy of study

(Ashley-Smith 4). For example, a

photograph of a boy:


Without any supplemental information about this photograph, it tells us little.

If data about the image is presented alongside the image, suddenly the image tells us much more.

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/I-19926&section=196






* What This portrait is titled "The Newsboy."

* Where Notman created scenes such as this one in his studio.

* When This image was made in 1866, one year before Confederation.

* Who Notman's son, William McFarlane Notman, posed for this photograph. It is extremely unlikely he was ever a newsboy himself.

Keys to History

The emergence of factories in major towns and cities meant that young working women were out on the streets of the city unescorted and therefore unprotected. Men and women concerned with women's safety or eager to preserve public morality supported restrictive measures aimed at limiting the risk of assault on the streets and injury on the job. Protective labour legislation limited the number of hours per week women could be employed, prohibited them from working after 10 p.m. and restricted the types of jobs they could take.

One of the occupations that fell under this new wave of protective legislation was newspaper selling. Both young and adult women were prohibited from hawking papers on the streets. In Toronto for example, only boys under the age of eight faced the same restriction.


This also applies to text documents:

Is this an important document?


Example:

Without any information about this document, its significance is unknown. However, when you include information about the creator, title, date, and other important information, the significance of the document increases.

This is a scanned copy of the first page of the Popol Vuh, the only surviving documentation of the Quiche people’s creation myth. It was created at the time of the Spanish colonization of Central America in the 15th century. If this single copy had not survived, this aspect of the Quiche people’s heritage would be lost.

While the original document is incredibly fragile, the availability of an electronic copy permits scholars all over the world to study the cultural heritage of the Central American native peoples.


Preserving the documentation about an object may be just as important as preserving the object itself.

In the case of electronic information, such as scanned textual documents, photographs, and audio or video recordings, this information is called “meta-data”, or “data about the data”.

Any information available at the time of the digitization should be included at the time of the creation of the electronic version of the materials.


Depending on the type of software used to create an e-library, or digital archive, different types of metadata can be used.

Employing appropriate and thorough metadata standards in your digitization project will ensure that the digital surrogates offer researchers the highest possible amount of information and insight onto the local knowledge resource or heritage materials.


The Dublin Core standard is the most widely used and accepted type of meta-data for HTML or websites, and can easily be adapted to describe photographs or textual documents.

The Dublin Core Meta-Data scheme includes 15 fields or elements divided into three categories: Information about: the content of the item (Title, Subject, Description, Type,

Source, etc.); the Intellectual Property rights (Creator, Publisher, etc.); the Instantiation (Date, Format, Identifier, Language,

etc.).

Obstacles to effective digital preservation strategies

Digital images rely on a number of factors including: electricity the availability of computers and internet access constant migration and backing-up of the data

This requires significant planning, management, and foresight in creating digital preservation programs at any institution.

Obstacles to effective digital preservation strategies

While most libraries possess the basic tools to begin a digital preservation program, such as a high-resolution scanner and a computer, digital preservation programs may not be feasible for all institutions.

As new technologies emerge, old computer hardware and software become obsolete, and data can become corrupted or unreadable if not properly maintained. A comprehensive plan for the management and migration of the materials must be integrated into any successful digitization plan.

A case study of the William Notman Photographic Archives

During my studies at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, I had the opportunity to do research at a variety of cultural heritage institutions, including the McCord Museum of Canadian History, The Canadian Centre for Architecture, The Stewart Museum, and the Archives Section of the City of Montreal.

While all of these institutions are rich in cultural materials and historical documents, the Notman Photographic Archives collection at the McCord Museum is uniquely significant for a number of reasons. The materials contained within the collection offer modern Canadians the opportunity to view photographic evidence of their ancestors and cultural heritage to an extent larger than any other collection I have had the opportunity to work with.

The William Notman Studio

William Notman opened his photography studio in Montreal in 1840, when photographic processes were still in their earliest stages of development. The studio operated continuously for 78 years, until 1928, and its output serves as some of the most valuable documentation of this time period in Montreal’s history.

The photographs created and produced by William Notman & his sons document an important part of the history of Montreal, at a time when the industrial revolution and other cultural events were causing dramatic changes throughout the country.

The William Notman Studio

As photography was in its earliest stages, and Notman was a pioneer in the field, his studio produced some of the only photographic evidence of this time period.

The Notman Collection at the McCord Museum contains over 450,000 images, including 200,000 glass plate negatives, as well as 800,000 images from the same time period taken by other photographers. In total, the collection contains over 1,200,000 images and negatives.

The museum has taken bold initiatives to digitize and preserve these images, and now nearly 20% of the collection is available online on the McCord Museum’s website (http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca). The original photographic materials are stored in temperature and humidity controlled vaults, and may only be consulted when absolutely necessary. Researchers are instead encouraged to use the digital surrogates of the images for study, which increases the life-span of the original images as they suffer less strain from being over-manipulated by researchers.

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/

Some examples from the Notman Photographic Archive

In this photograph, William Notman re-created in his studio, for documentary purposes, typical hunting scenes of the Huron-Wendat, an indigenous group of Canadian Aboriginal peoples. This image shows a shelter and traditional hunting gear as well as accessories embroidered with moosehair (epaulets, knife sheath, etc.). This photograph was taken in 1866, and recreates a traditional scene of Native Canadian hunters.




Since activities such as moose-hunts are no longer performed, and peoples such as the Huron-Wendat have become integrated into mainstream Canadian society and no longer continue to engage in traditionally cultural events such as hunting and other craftwork, photographs such as the one above document important local heritage information that would otherwise be lost. Please note level of detail supplied regarding the photograph on the museum’s website. The McCord Museum has paid careful attention to including important details such as the name of the photographer, the year the photograph was taken, the subjects, and even the context of the photograph. This information is of great value to the researcher, who otherwise might only see a group of men standing in the woods; all the pertinent local information would be lost.


This aboriginal man is shown with some hand-made materials traditional to the local tribes in Eastern Canada, including moccasins (slippers), and snowshoes. For the most part, these tribes and their artisan’s work have disappeared from Eastern Canada. It is only thanks to these photographs from Notman’s studio that we can still have visual evidence of their cultures.



Notman photographed individuals from all segments of Montreal’s culturally varied society. The following photograph documents the rules of modesty and dress that were strictly adhered to during the 19th century in Canada. While women were expected, as members of polite society, to keep their heads covered, many of them chose to adorn their heads with hats that would be considered anything but modest.


“Following fashion trends set in France, Canadian women of means could be seen sporting elaborate, intentionally eye-catching headpieces. In 1872 one journalist described the typical bonnet of his day as "that meaningless little nutshell outrageously decked with bunches of ribbons, flowers, feathers, which gives at present to our wives and daughters so alarming a look of insanity."

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/II-119956&section=196

Some examples from the Notman Photographic Archives

This photograph is interesting because it provides insight onto the photographic methods and procedures of the 19th century.

Conclusion

By making efforts to preserve this important collection of photographs created in Montreal, the McCord Museum has preserved an important aspect of the cultural heritage of Montreal residents and Canadians all over the country. These photographs offer unique and valuable insight for contemporary researchers into the history and heritage of Canada during an important era. The materials contained within the Notman Photographic Archives are extremely useful resources for studying cultural heritage and local history for Canadians all over North America. These same strategies could easily be employed in a library in Asia, bringing local information and cultural heritage materials into the hands of millions of people all over the world; documenting important aspects of local knowledge and tradition. If drastic steps are not taken soon to ensure the longevity of this type of information, these may be lost for all time. Digital technology offers great potential for not only the preservation of these valuable materials, but also the dissemination of such unique and significant information resources.

References

Ashley-Smith, Jonathan. "Photographic conservation – what’s the problem?" Care of Photographic, Moving Image, & Sound Collections. Ed. Susie Clark. University College of Ripon & York St. John, York, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1998.

McCord Museum. “Notman Photograpic Archives”. Retrieved 8 September 2008. < http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/>

Peters, Dale. "The role of digital technology as a preservation strategy in a humid climate.” Care of Photographic, Moving Image, & Sound Collections. Ed. Susie Clark. University College of Ripon & York St. John, York, England: Institute of Paper Conservation, 1998.

Thank you!

nicole gaston 11 september, 2008 central library, national university of laos mcgill university,...

Documents

photographic materials

audio materials

method of preservation

cultural heritage information

aspect of preservation

local information resources

certain types of materials

societys cultural heritage