I'm sorry to learn that Ms. Stewart finds our museum's procedures "ridiculous." She is of course welcome to follow her own opinions in these matters. We've found that accessioning archival prints of both negatives and digital images has worked well for us, and have often had occasion to be glad that the prints were available, just as we've also been glad to have made scans. Of course information about the source, nature, and location of the digital image is included in the catalogue record, and all necessary steps are taken to preserve those images, which are so easily erased or corrupted.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:36:37 -0500
From: Callie Stewart <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Accession question re: electronic files
I respectively disagree. Yes, digital files do have unique preservation
issues, but so does everything else in our collections. Our job is to
create policies, procedures and storage/migration solutions that meet the
needs of the objects that we have, whether they be digital or paper. Why
would you accession a print made from a digital file if you have the actual
digital file? If someone gave you a group of photographic negatives (which
have their own set of preservation concerns) would you insist on making
prints to accession instead of accessioning the original negatives? To me
that just seems ridiculous. Eventually we are all going to get born
digital material in our collections and will have to face the issues of
dealing with preserving digital media at some point.
I do agree that it is certainly better to do the scanning yourself to make
sure that you have the best possible image and to ensure consistency.
This discussion is very timely for me since we are currently struggling
with a similar issue.
On Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 2:12 PM, Leary, Patrick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I agree with Audra. We print out archival-quality copies of all digital
> images and catalog them just as we would a photographic print; the digital
> image is, by analogy, the negative, which is stored separately. I would
> only add that it is never a good idea to let the donor create the digital
> image from the original photo. The original must be loaned -- we use a
> "temporary deposit form" for this purpose -- so that museum staff can make
> a scan that is both very high resolution and saved in an uncompressed
> (TIFF) format, in order to capture as much of the detail in the image as
> possible.
>
> Given that so many donors are unwilling to part with originals (and
> because of this, many of those originals will wind up lost or damaged
> within a generation or two, if not sooner), we have to be content to make
> copies sometimes, if the photograph is important enough. But that doesn't
> mean having to accession little JPEG files; for us, anything that
> low-quality doesn't belong in the collection, but is of use only for
> reference, to be printed out and kept in reference files along with
> photocopies of clippings, etc.
>
> Patrick Leary
> Curator, Wilmette Historical Museum
> [log in to unmask]
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:26:24 -0500
> From: Audra Oliver <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Accession question re: electronic files
>
> Just a word (OK several words) of caution -
> If all that is accessioned is a digital file, this part of the collection
> is at risk. Digital media degrades over time and also requires migration
> as the format progresses. That is the hardware and/or software may become
> obsolete and if files are not migrated, they will be inaccessible.
> Further, it is my understanding that quality diminishes with each transfer.
> As bulky and awkward as it may seem, if I regarded a digital image as
> worthy of long-time retention and wished to accession it, I would make a
> hard copy.
>
>
>
>
>
> >>> Sylvia Bruner <[log in to unmask]> 1/19/2012 3:32 PM >>>
> Hi Robin,
>
> you have a similar question that I struggled with recently. Our museum
> was receiving offers for donation of a "copy" of a historic photograph, but
> the donors did not want to gift the original. We cussed and discussed
> until we finally came up with this:
>
> We now have a Artifact Donation Form, and a Digital Image Donation Form.
> As usual, our collections committee makes the decision on what items are
> accessioned, and if they determine the image to be important enough to
> accession a digital file, then we do. We do not actually accession any
> printed material that we generate from that image however. The Digital
> Image Donation form specifies that the donor(s) is giving us all rights and
> title to the copyright so that we may display, print in our newsletter and
> other materials, and make available to researchers.
>
> It's a little complicated, but I think it is going to work out well for
> us. We still always prefer the original photograph or document for that
> matter, but if we can't have it (and say, the donor is the only person with
> one and they are not readily available from other sources) then a digital
> file is a close second. I would suggest that if you do decide to accession
> the posters you have printed that you have them printed on acid-free, high
> quality paper for longevity. You also have the option of not accessioning
> anything - are the posters being used for advertisement of a special
> exhibit? You might check your collections policies - ours include
> collecting institutional history - things like special opening brochures,
> temporary exhibit fliers, auction posters, etc ... but things we have
> manufactured for use in an exhibit as a prop does not get accessioned -
> such as a laminate sign showing an old highway (copied from a photocopy of
> a book!), or a fabric wall hanging that has an enlarged photograph - the
> photographer is credited with her name in the corner of the hanging, but it
> will not be accessioned.
>
> Hopefully this doesn't just add confusion to your question!
> Best of luck,
> Sylvia
>
>
> Sylvia Bruner
> Assistant Director / Registrar
> JC Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum
> P.O. Box 596 ~ 100 Fort Street
> Buffalo, WY 82834
> www.jimgatchell.com
> 307-684-9331
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