tales from the field discovering hidden collections in the agsl's photo archives
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Discovering Hidden Collections in the AGSL's Photo Archives
Krystyna K. Matusiak, [email protected]
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