Project Overview - Small Beginnings
The original aim of the project was simply to capture, in electronic format, the information we had on the images held in the Reference Library Local History Collection and then at a later date 'digitise' the images themselves. This had the dual objectives of improving accessibility to the Local History collection while protecting the original images from excessive handling.
The Vision Grows
At the outset the idea was to enter the information held on card
files into a simple MS/Access database with the intention of replicating
this onto CD ROM for circulation throughout the library service.
It very soon became apparent that this approach could be greatly
improved upon by entering the data directly into a web-based database.
We then very quickly
developed a new database structure.
The database structure relies on each image having a uniquely
numbered data record or 'folder'. Each folder contains a link
to the image with the same number in the image data store. The
card details entered by the reference library staff are also numbered
and are held in the relevant folder.
Getting Started
It was time to make a start. Members of the Reference Library
staff set about the task of entering the information held on the
cards associated with each image into the new database. There
are somewhere in the region of 2,500 images in the Local History
collection and, with an average of 4 or 5 information cards associated
with each image, so this was no small undertaking.
As the card details were being entered by the reference library
staff, the images themselves were taken away to be scanned and
entered into a separate data store. The electronic versions of
the images were 'cleaned up' and then linked back to their descriptions
in the database.
To complete the cycle, each folder had to be given an appropriate title and the content of each card proofread before being published. This 'publishing' control means that each element of data associated with the images can be entered as and when convenient but it is only made accessible to the viewer when it is in an acceptable state.
Added Value
As well as providing an extremely valuable teaching resource,
we have at the same time provided the wider public with easy access
to the images held by the Authority.
The system also gives the viewer the opportunity to add to the
information we have on the images by adding their own comments.
These may take the form of stories they have about the images
or additional information on the images themselves. Again, the
facility to withhold the publishing of comments until they are
reviewed means that the viewers will only ever see suitable and
relevant information.
We also hope to put together a number of 'Guided Tours' where
images will be grouped by theme and local interest groups will
be invited to provide suitable descriptions.
What Next
Work is starting now to incorporate the Borough's large archive of negatives. This process is somewhat simplified by the fact that Vicki Rees of the Museums service had already captured the information relating to the images in the MODES database used by the museums. This means that, while the scanning and cleaning up of the negatives still needs to be done, the actual data associated with the images can be imported from the existing source.
Long Term
The long term plan is to have the whole of the Borough's image collection accessible as a learning resource via the website. This will eventually encompass the large collection of slides held by the Museums Service as well as the images they have.
