The document discusses the digitization efforts of the American Geographical Society Library to preserve and provide access to its photographic collections. It describes how over 69,000 nitrate negatives were digitized through an NEH-funded project to save the historic images from deterioration. As part of this work, a pilot project digitized 4,000 film negatives from the Harrison Forman Collection, documenting his expeditions to northern Tibet. Digitization helps remove barriers to access posed by analog formats and lack of description by making the visual resources searchable online and integrated with descriptive information.
Tales from the field discovering hidden collections in the agsl's photo archives
1. Tales from the Field
Discovering Hidden Collections in the
AGSL's Photo Archives
Krystyna K. Matusiak, krystyna.matusiak@du.edu
Library & Information Science Program, University of Denver
3. 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
4. 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
6. Documentary Photography
Photographic prints
A small percentage of visual materials in library collections
7. Barriers to Access
Organization of analog image collections
By original creator
The lack of subject access
8. Barriers to Access
Inaccessible analog image formats
Glass plates
Film negatives
Slides
9. Barriers to Access
The lack of item-level description in original source collections
10. Digitization of Visual Materials
Removing the Barriers
Example: The Harrison Forman Collection
11. 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
12. Removing the Barriers
Access to the visual content
Changde (China), refugees await to receive assistance at an assembly after the Battle of Changde
The Harrison Forman Collection. American Geographical Society Library, University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee Libraries. http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/u?/agsphoto,9797
14. 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)
18. 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)