Assessing Digitized Photo Collections at Small Historical Societies

Laura LovedayLIS5937.751

Considerations for Digitizing Collections

Time of staff or volunteers How it will be maintained / used in

the future Money for hosting or equipment Will it be self-hosted, through state

resources, or with a consortium?

Selecting Historical Societies

Sites focusing on localized history were selected for having an online collection of photos despite having a small size and budget

Attention was also paid to location to ensure diversity

Treasures of Madison County

 Section 257.35(6), Florida Statutes, "Any use or reproduction of material deposited with the Florida Photographic Collection shall be allowed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1)(b) and subsection (4), provided that appropriate credit for its use is given." 

Copyright Photos can be protected by their size

or use of a watermark Online visibility allows visibility of the

society as well

“The majority of organizations who have shared their materials would probably say that the benefits they've gained from the exposure and the value the public has gained from having access to their collections far outweigh any revenue they may have lost.” -Kate Theimer

La Habra Old Settlers Historical Society

Benefits of Hosting Options

Sites hosted by society staff members allow future editing and maintenance

Vendors have the latest technology to make it user friendly (OCR, speed)

Taking part in a consortium can give staff time to improve skills while benefitting from having some control over material

Northfield Historical Society

Describing Photos Tagging allows users to have the

best search results Include names, events, buildings,

etc. Archivists may want to consider

including numbers for their organizational needs

Ypsilanti Historical Society

Balancing the Real World and the Online World

Invest time in learning new software and improving the society’s website

Direct community members to the archives to recognize people or places

Digitize existing finding aids Create an online presence for

exhibits

Sitka Historical Society and Museum

In conclusion…

Keep an open mind and be creative!