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Springer Collection Procedures

I’m back for the second day of my internship with the Center for Railroad Photography and Art and wanted to record some of the technical parts of our process.

ScanningScanner Settings

While most of this collection has already been scanned, some needs to be scanned for the first time. Here is the process I’m using for the scanning process.

I’m scanning using Lake Forest College’s “Epson Perfection V750 Pro” scanner with the frame for negatives. I am scanning at 600 dpi in 16-bit grayscale and saving as jpg. The purpose of these scans is to create decent access copies for the Center with the option to add them to online databases (Flickr or the Center’s website) in the future so that this level of scanning is appropriate.

File Naming

Most of the files are named using the following convention: Collection Name/Box/Envelope. For example

  • Springer_02_123 = Springer Collection, Box 2, Envelope 123
  • Springer_04_067 = Springer Collection, Box 4, Envelope 67

I’m proposing that we standardize this practice across the entire collection. Additionally – to account for instances where one envelope contains multiple photos, I’m proposing that we extend this convention to be: Collection Name/Box/Envelope/Image. For example,

  • Springer_01_049_A = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 49, First Image
  • Springer_01_049_B = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 49, Second Image
  • Springer_01_050 = Springer Collection, Box 1, Envelope 50 (the only image).

I think it makes sense to supply the alphabetical distinction only when needed and to use letters instead of numbers because (1) it will improve computer sorting and (2) the original order (within the individual envelopes) is difficult to preserve.

Metadata

This is the core metadata for the collection

  • File Name (see above!) – This will serve as the unique identifier for each image in the collection.
  • Railroad – This collection is organized by railroad so that information will be preserved. I would imagine that acronyms and abbreviations will be replaced by the standard form of the name
  • Railroad Number – Because I lack the context, I’m transcribing as I find on the object. Again, I think standardizing to a formal, controlled vocabulary will be important at some point.
    • QUESTION – what should I do when multiple trains are listed. Should I create two fields for this data or combine them in one field?
  • Description – A few images have short (2-3 word) annotations. I wanted to preserve these notes and couldn’t think of a better field.
  • Location – I’ve seperated city from state in the spreadsheet on the basis that (1) it would be easy to combine these fields in the future and (2) this separation is easier to manipulate.
    • QUESTION – some cards contain information like “MP 60” which I’m interpreting as “Mile Post 60.” This seems like valuable metadata but data that doesn’t fit squarely in the “Location” field. Is this information worth preserving and – if so – how should I record it.
  • Date – So far, all photos have a clearly marked date. I’m recording that using the YYYY-MM-DD standard recommended by the Center.
  • Collection – This is all the Springer Collection.
  • Original Format – This collection is black and white negatives in several standard sizes.
  • Digital Format – I am creating jpegs.
  • Date Scanned – This technical metadata is recorded in the system.

As an aside, I thought it would be fun to mention two pieces of train-specific metadata I’ve encountered so far. I’ve mentioned one already – “MP 60.” Again, I think that means “mile post” but I’m really not sure. I think it would be great to record this and could be very useful to certain people in a certain context. However, it doesn’t fit with other standard vocabularies (city/state) and requires additional context to be useful.

The second train-specific information I encountered is this (2-8-4). A quick google search took me to Wikipedia where I learned that is the Whyte Notation for a particular wheel arrangement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-8-4).

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Center for Railroad Photography & Art Internship!

I’m excited to start an internship working with the Center for Railroad Photography & Art and the Lake Forest College Archives! I want to use this space to write up a bit about the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, the collection I’ll be working with, and the some initial thoughts and goals for my particular project.

About the Center

The Center for Railroad Photography & Art is a organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of railroad art as it intersects with American life. There website provides much greater detail about their mission: http://www.railphoto-art.org/about/. They are involved in publication – including the journal “Railroad Heritage” – and maintain an online web portal that serves as a digital collection of railroad photography.

About the Collection

I’ll be working directly with one of the Center’s collections – The Fred M. Springer Collection.  The Center for Railroad photography & Art has compiled a relatively complete biographic section – and he seems like a pretty interesting guy! I’m particularly fascinated by his interest in narrow gauge trains. I’m working with his collection of black and white negatives that are currently housed and curated by the Lake Forest College Archives.

The Project

Preservation

The collection is roughly 7,500 Cellulose Acetate Film Base negatives – most seem to be “Kodak Safety” negatives. Most of the negatives are 3.5 inches wide and 2.25 inches tall. These negatives are currently housed in sleeves and envelopes of various sizes and materials (paper, plastic, etc.) and I do not know if they are archival quality of not. These sleeves contain critical metadata for the collection. The collection seems in very good shape – no signs of deterioration at this point.

Options/Recommendations

  • Invest in A-D strips to check for deterioration (
    http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/modules/store/index.html?dept=27&cat=846&cart=1421953411839179)
  • Re-housing material in archival quality envelopes ($1,500) and boxes ($100) would be expensive – determine if there is need for this.

Organization

The physical negatives are currently arranged alphabetically by railroad (and possibly by train number following that) in what is presumed to be the Springer’s original organization. The collection is also physically divided into 6 boxes. Digital files are currently named used a locally devised scheme of Collection_Box#_Envelope# and seems to correspond closely to the existing physical arrangement.

Options/Recommendations

  • Gather all digital files in one folder and confirm that digital file naming standards match physical arrangement.
  • Add additional dividers within the boxes to reflect envelope numbering (current system makes discovery difficult).
  • Consider writing the unique identifier directly on each envelope/sleeve.
  • Standardize practice when envelopes contain multiple negatives (re-house in new envelopes/sleeves, change file naming structure?)

Metadata and Access

Implement metadata standards that relate to the intended purpose and audience of this collection. Existing metadata is written on the envelope and often includes: train, train number, location, date, and sometimes a short description.

Options/Recommendations

  • Transcribe existing metadata to a spreadsheet – apply controlled vocabulary and standards – and add other descriptive and technical metadata (collection and collector information, original format, digital format, size, color)
  • Create new descriptive metadata (classifications, titles, longer descriptions)

Questions for the Center

To organize my thoughts and get a better sense of the project I wanted to compile a list of questions for the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. Here is a quick list.

  1. What is the intended purpose of digitizing this collection? Who is the intended audience? Where will this live online?
  2. What level of metadata is required for this collection?
    1. Is associating digital files with unique identifiers sufficient for this collection?
    2. Should the unique identifiers be associated with descriptive metadata and – if so – what level of metadata is required?
  3. What is the best way to store this collection?
    1. Preserve existing organization and structure – would it be okay to add additional marking and structure?
    2. Are the current storage systems of archival quality? Are there funds to invest in other storage systems?
  4. Small Questions
    1. The orientation of some of the photos is wrong (i.e. letter/numbers are backwards) – is that something we should fix?
    2. Should I change basic orientation?
    3. One file per photo – extend file naming to be Collection_Box#_Envelope#_A if we continue using the current file naming convention or assign new unique identifier if it is replaced.

Background Information

I’m new to the area and wanted to begin building a body of knowledge and resources as it relates to this project. Here are some helpful resources I’ve found so far.