The Practical Archivist

The Practical Archivist has MOVED!

2010-01-12T07:44:00.013-06:00

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This practicalarchivist.blogspot.com blog, the one you're reading right now, is frozen in time.

It is obsolete.

I should probably nuke it (all the content has been imported into the new site) but this was my very first blog, and I've gotten surprisingly nostalgic about it. ::sniffle::

The Practical Archivist has a new cyber-address *please update your links*

If you are kind enough to link to my writing via your blog or website, please help The Google find my new site by updating your Practical Archivist links. If you need help finding a specific article on the new site, drop me a line.

The new home page: Practical Archivist

The blog: Practical Archivist Blog

Be sure to check out my neat-o Preservation Answer Machine.

I get asked all the time by family archivists "What scanner should I buy?" Since it's such a popular question, I've created links to the two scanners I personally own and use (one portable, one that can scan slides & film): Practical Archivist Recommends

Follow me on Twitter I come from a long line of clippers, and as far as I'm concerned Twitter is the new scissors n' newspaper. @sally_j

Welcome, Madison Magazine Readers!

2009-08-21T07:19:00.002-05:00

Please pardon our dust as I move my online presence from this blog to a full website at practicalarchivist.com. Er, please don't visit the website today. It appears to be broken this morning. My webmaster is currently scrambling to fix all the broken parts. I know, great timing. Murphy's Law and all.

You need help conquering the clutter of your photos. (Hint: They don't all have the same value.)

You want to be a better family archivist and take proper care of the antique photos entrusted to you.

You've come to the right place!

Arrange a one-on-one consultation with me (Sally J, The Practical Archivist) or a custom workshop for you and up to a dozen friends.

Actually, I take that back. Workshop isn't really the right word.

It's more like an "Organize, Scan & Share Photo Party." Perfect for family reunions and girl's weekends. Call me for rates and scheduling: 608-332-1494
In the meantime, please have a look around.

There is a list of my most popular articles over there on the left.

I've also pulled together a few articles I think you might like about how to organize photos.

Cheers!

-Sally J.

P.S. This one is also really useful: Practical Tips for How to Scan Photos Safely.

Great Read: The Museum of Obsolete Technology

2008-11-09T09:43:00.008-06:00

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Alexander Stille is one of my favorite writers. Here is a link to the first essay of his that I ever read. I discovered it while I was in grad school over a decade ago, and I never forgot it. It's free to read, and I hope you enjoy it.

Free Online Essay:
Are We Losing Our Memory? Or The Museum of Obsolete Technology

This essay comes from a collection called The Future of the Past. I devoured the entire book earlier this year and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's a fascinating look at the big picture of historic preservation. If you like the free essay in the link above, you'll probably enjoy the entire book:

Discussion Topic: Do Replicas Count?

This was one of the most interesting points of Stille's book...

In China, it's considered preservation to rebuild crumbling treasures. Since the new parts are in the same style, they make no distinction between the original and the copy. Stille talks about how this cultural difference has caused problems when treasures go on exhibit to western museums. Westerners don't want a copy, they want what they consider to be the only authentic copy...the original.

What do YOU think?

Would you feel cheated if you went to a museum that only had replicas?
Would it make a difference to you if the reproductions were created using the same tools as the original?
Does it bother you if your historic family photograph is a modern print from a recent scan and not the original antique?
What is lost when you create a copy?
What is gained when you create a copy?

Sound off in the comments section, below.

Oh, and feel free to leave your comments about Stille's Museum of Obsolete Technology essay if you like. I'd love to hear what you thing about it.

SLAIGAT: Using strong chemicals to clean photos

2008-10-28T20:48:00.000-05:00

SLAGIAT = "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

In the past, conservators used poisons like cyanide and arsenic (!) to kill insects and other pests. Even though they didn't always work. Eeeek. After apologizing for preaching to the converted, a conservator on a professional email list had this to say:

More than one of the chemicals that were considered safe early in my career have been discredited because many existing "approved" fumigation facilities were, in fact, unsafe, because the chemicals affected the chemistry of objects over time, or because there is continued off gassing from the treated object.

What seems like a good idea today may cause real harm in the long run.

This is precisely why I never recommend chemical solvents to clean prints or film. Even though professional photographers do this regularly. My argument is this: It might look better today, but what will happen 10, 50, 100 years from now? Better safe than sorry.

This is also why I urge you to wear cotton gloves when handling photographs. That fingerprint might not look so bad today, but it could start eating into the emulsion one day down the road.
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Clickety Clack!

2008-10-25T17:16:00.006-05:00

I have a weakness for obsolete technology in general, and typewriters in particular.

This is a marvelous video about a small family owned business, remarkable customer service and (of course) clickety clack:

Got a typewriter story or memory you'd like to share? Use the comments section!

How to organize pamphlets and protect them at the same time

2008-10-19T09:18:00.004-05:00

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This video from UNC-Chapel Hill reveals a neat-o way to store fragile pamphlets upright on a book shelf. If you want to get fancy, you can scan the original cover and attach a printout to your new cover. You can even add an edge label so you will know the title without opening anything up. Why should you bother?

Less Handling = Less Damage

With this system, the pamphlet lives in a custom envelope, so it stays dust free. Why is it important to keep dust away? My years as an archivist and my former career in a used book store showed me that if you wait long enough? Dust turns into gritty dirt. And not only is dirt is more difficult to clean -- the grit can scratch and permanently damage your treasures as you attempt to clean it. D'oh!

Dust = Dirt = Damage

Another advantage of this system is that it protects ephemeral items from UV rays.

Light = Damage

Tag! I'm it...

2008-10-17T21:37:00.039-05:00

10 Years Ago I..

Hand coded my first website.
Received my Master's in Library Science with a Specialization in Archives Management.
Began my job as Assistant Corporate Archivist / Image Researcher at American Girl.
Turned thirty.
Married the love of my life.

Five Things on Today's To-Do List

Wake up my kids, make them breakfast and pack lunches for them, walk with them to the bus stop.
Shower, make myself breakfast, pack my lunch, and catch the city bus to my day job.
While waiting for the bus, call my Mom to figure out what we're doing about Thanksgiving since the usual family hosts are escaping to Australia this year.
Write this post and (finally) update my Practical Archivist blog.
Find an open reel machine that plays 1/4 inch tape -- both 1/2 track and 1/4 track. (Figuring out exactly what that means was on my To Do list earlier this week. So was learning that nobody manufactures machines like this anymore.)

Five Snacks I Enjoy

Curry chips
(Very) dark chocolate
Nicoise olives
Salami and cheese
Homemade popcorn ...the best thing about not replacing our broken microwave!

Five Places I've Lived

Chicago, IL
Glencoe, IL
Madison, WI
Arlington, VA
Dublin, Ireland

Five Jobs I've Had

Short Order Cook (a.k.a. hamburger flipper)
Pasta Maker
Staple Puller*
Historical Image Researcher
Audio Archivist

*Worst. Job. Ever.

Five Blogs I Tag

Family Matters (Denise Olson)
Family Oral History (Susan Kitchens)
Tracing the Tribe (Schelly Talalay Dardashti)
Shades of the Departed (footnote Maven)
Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing (Sharon Lippincott)

Assuming tag-backs aren't allowed, I want to be sure to mention two of my favorite bloggers, Lisa of Genealogy Gems and Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective. Thanks for tagging me and getting me out of blogging retirement!

Learning to date old photographs

2008-07-31T07:23:00.000-05:00

[NOTE: This post originally appeared one year ago, July 30, 2007.]

Last year, Randy over at Genea-Musings found this wonderful photographic treasure in his Aunt Geraldine's papers. He asked for input from readers to help date this pair of cased photographs. Randy's post contains some great resources to help you date old photographs, so be sure to stop by. It's nice to have resources pooled together like that. Thanks, Randy!

Dating old photographs is a very effective way to help identify who is in the photo. If you can narrow it down to a decade and you know your family tree, it's much easier to figure out who is pictured in an unmarked photograph.

Here are two great books that will help you date your photographic treasures.

Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs
by Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective

As far as I'm concerned, Maureen Taylor is the Supreme Maven of Photo Dating. Lucky for us, she shares her expertise in easy to understand books written with genealogists in mind. This updated version of one of her classics is a must-have for every family archivist.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Every single rating on Amazon.com is 5 out of 5. Here's the first review, click here to read them all.

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A beautiful and useful book, January 5, 2001

By	Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an outstanding way to expand your family history skills through photo research. It provides step-by-step advice on how to identify ancestors in photos using their poses, clothes, studio props, and other information.

After giving a history of photography with emphasis on identifying types of photographs by era, the author provides chapters such as "Looking for Clues", "Identifying Costume", and the very important "Identifying the Photographer". The book also gives detailed information on how to build your own family photograph collection including the use of photograph worksheets and proper labeling.

The photographs used to illustrate the book are simply glorious. It is a visual treat to follow the pictorial examples given to explain the text. Each photo is an exquisite specimen of how our ancestors faced the camera.

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Oh, and don't forget to visit Maureen's Photo Detective blog.

Dressed for the Photographer
By Joan Severa

If you're serious about dating photographs, there's another book that will make your task much easier. You don't need this book if you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of costume. What's that? You don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of costume? Yeah, me neither...and I sourced historic photos for over six years. It takes a long time to build that expertise.

Once again, family historians are fortunate that an expert has shared her knowledge with the rest of us. Joan Severa is a former costume curator at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Joan's book, Dressed for the Photographer, is PACKED with example photographs and arranged chronologically. The images are large enough for you to see the detail, and the book is printed on high quality paper (that's why it's so pricey). Joan points out all the hallmarks to look for when dating a photograph, including clothing, jewelry and hairstyles. She also does a fantastic job including photographs of regular working people, not just the wealthy. Amazing book. Nothing else like it out there.

Purchase these recommended books from Amazon.com:

[Photo Credit: Randy Seaver, Genea-Musings blog]
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Dating British Photos:

Reader Andrew Millard left a helpful tip in the comments section about a web site for dating British photographs:: http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/date.htm

Andrew says: "It has a wide range of dated photographs that you can compare to your own undated ones." Thanks again, Andrew!

Other articles you might enjoy:
5 tips for preserving your one-of-a-kind family photographs
Where should I store my family photographs?
What to keep? What to toss?
Flash drives are NOT for long term storage
Why do archivists wear white gloves?

What to do with a moldy photograph

2008-06-30T07:02:00.004-05:00

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[Hmmm....let's see if I remember how to do this blogging thing...]

Lately, we've had some terrible flooding here in the American Midwest. The Wisconsin Dells lost Lake Delton. It's completely gone! It was a man made lake, that's true, but it's been there for almost 100 years. I've pumped my basement more times than I care to remember in the last couple months. Fortunately, we don't keep anything as fragile as photographs down there. And everything that's down there is stored on shelves and not on the ground. Phew!

Family Archivists, Take Note:
Where there is moisture and warm temperatures, there will be mold.

I DETEST MOLD. In fact, I hate it so much that just seeing a picture of it gives me the heebie jeebies. Mold is the enemy of every archivist. It destroys books and photographs. It is a serious health hazard, especially for people with respiratory problems. And it takes serious chemicals to kill it.

Prevention is the best cure. Mold loves a warm, moist environment. Do not give mold what it loves! Your best bet is to store materials only in climate controlled areas. That means air conditioning and a dehumidifier during warm, humid weather. Make sure your dehumidifier has a hose so the water drains continuously. Basements, attics and garages are not good locations to store items you value. Fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels are bad even without the threat of mold.

If you find mold. First of all, promise me you'll treat it like the dangerous substance it is. Don't touch it with your bare hands, and don't breathe it in. (NOTE: People with respiratory problems should not go near mold even with a respirator.)

Kill it. There are chemicals that will kill mold spores, but unfortunately these chemicals will also destroy your photographs, books, and papers. You'll need to inactivate the mold with more gentle methods. But be sure to clean shelving and walls with a mold and mildew killing solution such as Lysol, Clorox, or X-14.

De-activate it. If you brush a spot and it smears, it's active. If it's powdery and dry that means it's inactive. Freezing, air drying, and exposure to UV light are all methods that will inactivate mold. But light can also cause fading, so don't leave materials in direct light for more than an hour.

Once it's inactive you need to either vacuum it up or wipe it off. Do not vacuum indoors unless you have a HEPA filter (otherwise you will just spread the spores to other materials inside). If you use cloth rags to wipe off the mold, change them often and be sure to wash them in hot water and bleach after use.

Inactive mold spores will re-bloom as soon as conditions are warm and moist enough.

That's why prevention is so crucial.

Isolate it. As an extra precaution, items that have been infected with mold should be isolated from the rest of your collection. Isolation is a good idea because the spores will literally infect other items. Put them in their own special box (or boxes if we're talking about a large outbreak).

Scan it and dispose of the original. If isolation is too expensive for your budget, make a high resolution scan and create a new print. Do not attempt this if the mold is still active, or if there are inactive spores present. You don't want to spread the spores to your scanner!

Want more info? Here's a detailed article about mold, with a fabulous title:

Invasion of the Giant Mold Spore!

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Photo by Editor B, some rights reserved.

Original caption: "This picture from Xy's 30th birthday party is a little worse for the wear after bobbing around in floodwaters for a couple weeks. Actually the damage gives it some interesting character, but I'm worried the photograph will be slowly consumed by mold."

How to Organize Photos: Avoiding Project Burnout

2008-02-17T12:28:00.002-06:00

The curse of the half-finished project.

Photo by Ben Kelly, pope24, some rights reserved

You made your New Year's Resolutions. You started your photo organizing project with tons of enthusiasm. Oh, yes, you told yourself. This year is going to be different.

But now it's February, Valentine's Day has come and gone, and...well...

Here are some tips to keep your photo organizing project from fizzling out before you finish.

1. Set realistic goals.
If you place the bar too high, you're setting yourself up for failure. Pick realistic goals. Remember the baby steps. I've talked about this in more detail before. Here's a link to that article.

2. Make photo organizing as fun as possible.

This technique not only works, it makes the whole project more fun. I call that a win-win situation. One of the simplest ways to increase the fun factor is to play your favorite music. Even better if the music goes with the photos you're working on.

Another win-win is to invite someone to join you. Make it a regular date and you've added an extra layer of "get it done." Just think of it as a quilting bee for photos. You know, like a photo bee! ::grin::

Miriam Midkiff's awesome Scanfest uses this same idea to help folks complete large scanning projects. This completely free event happens once a month. Follow this link to learn more about Scanfest.

3. Hire a photo coach.

I don't talk about this often, but you can hire The Practical Archivist for coaching via phone or email. If you live within driving distance of Madison, Wisconsin, we can arrange one-on-one help in the comfort of your own home. Email me if you'd like to set something up: sally -at- jacobsarchival -dot- com.

But, really...as long as you've got a solid preservation plan for your family photos, any personal organizer or coach can help you stay on track. Just don't rely on a "clutter buster" for safe photo storage boxes, OK?

4. Use tech tools as your personal trainer.

If all you need is a regular reminder to stay on track, there are plenty of free tools to choose from. Here are three to get you started:

Future Me - write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date.

GottaKeepUp.com - Get reminders at work, home, or on the go.

rminder.com - Enter your reminder and receive a voice or text message to your phone to remind you. You can sync these reminders with iCal, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar and more.

But be careful! Technology can just as easily enable bad procrastination habits, as I warned you earlier.

Good luck.

Keep at it.

You can do this!

"Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps."

Keep the Littlest Ones Away from the Family Archives...

2008-02-15T21:16:00.002-06:00

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I love this hilarious video of a wee one and the simple joy of tearing paper. It reminds me of the days when my kids were tiny and the wrapping paper was more interesting than the gift. Awww.

But it's also an easy-to-remember lesson about why the smallest members of the family shouldn't be allowed near irreplaceable family treasures.

Paper Vs. Plastic: Which One Is Better?

2008-02-08T07:46:00.000-06:00

If you're tackling a family photo project, you'll need to think about what kind of storage supplies will work best for you.

Basically, you have two choices when choosing an album or photo storage box:

1. Paper.
2. Plastic.

The good news is you can find high quality archival storage products made out of either material.

But the bad news is there are plenty of junky materials out there.

A cheap photo storage box can cause more damage than it prevents.

Whether you choose paper or plastic, the safest supplies are the ones that have passed an independent test called the Photographic Activity Test. Click through to learn more about the test and why the term "archival" is meaningless when applied to consumer products.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both plastic and paper.

Plastic is good at protecting your treasures from fingerprints and spills.

Photo and documents that get handled all the time will be well served by putting them clear enclosures such as polypropelene and polyethelene. You (or third cousin who refuses to wear gloves) can see the images without touching them. Encapsulation is a good choice for fragile or torn paper that you can't afford to have repaired by a conservator.

But for storage, I prefer paper. Here's why:

Paper breathes.

Here in America we tend to put a lot of faith in the protective power of plastic. One visit to a grocery store here in the States will illustrate that fact very clearly. Everything from candy to beef to tomatoes is sold shrink-wrapped in plastic. I've traveled enough to know that this isn't the case in the rest of the world.

When it comes to archival storage, the fact that plastic doesn't breathe can actually cause more problems than it prevents.

Now, don't get me wrong -- plastic is great for keeping bad things out like moisture and fingerprints.

But...

Photographs, film and tape are all made from materials that change over time. When these materials change, they can leach chemicals or give off gases that will loop back and inflict self damage if they are "sealed in their own juices" as my preservation instructor used to say.

Here's a striking visual example of what I'm talking about.

If this tape had been stored in plastic instead of cardboard, the acids and offgassing that burned brown stains into the box would have stayed inside and attacked the tape instead.

Photo of paper bags by tanakawho, some rights reserved.
Photo of tape case by Richard Hess.

*Note! That Richard Hess link will take you to his post that explains in more detail what's going on in the photo, and why he thinks tape has escaped the vinegar syndrome that has plagued film.
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A scary reminder to back up your data...

2008-01-25T14:52:00.000-06:00

MAJOR OOPS!

Wired News - AP News

Software error at Charter Communications deletes 14,000 email accounts.

No chance of recovery

(except for data backed up by customers)

"There is no way to retrieve the messages, photos and other attachments that were erased from inboxes and archive folders across the country on Monday, said Anita Lamont, a spokeswoman for the suburban St. Louis-based company." (Read the whole article on Wired News.)

Promise me you'll back up your emails this weekend, OK?

How to Organize Photos: Warning! This Advice May Shock You

2008-01-14T22:31:00.002-06:00

Contrary to popular belief,

archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat? An archivist?

Throwing things out?!

Yep.

Ya heard me.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss -- based on what items have enduring value.

But aren't archivists the keepers of our shared history?

Yes, but...

CLICK HERE to read the updated version of my organize photos article. That link will take you to the rest of this article at the NEW Practical Archivist website. (I can't bring myself to delete this old Blogspot one. Sentimental fool that I am.)

Caring for the ephemera in your collections

2008-01-08T20:29:00.000-06:00

Do you have ticket stubs, programs, licenses or calling cards in your family history collection?

Of course you do.

Well, it doesn't matter if they were forgotten in the pages of a book or carefully pasted into a scrapbook...they're all paper ephemera.

What the heck is ephemera?

The Society of American Archivists' glossary defines ephemera as "materials, usually printed documents, created for a specific, limited purpose, and generally designed to be discarded after use."

Today, Marty Weil over at ephemera.com included Practical Archivist in his list of Eight Essential Resources for Ephemera Collectors. I'm honored and delighted.

So. If you landed here from Marty's place, welcome!

The Practical Archivist's Tips for Ephemera Collectors

Ephemera.com. If you haven't yet discovered Marty's blog I encourage you to check it out. stop by for a visit.

Photo Credit: 1913 Puffing Billy Train Ticket by Laineys Repertoire. Click here for license information.

Organize Your Photos in 2008

2008-01-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

Coming Soon

How to Downsize and Organize Your Photos

Without Losing Your Memories or Your Mind

Because as Footnote Maven points out, it takes more than resolutions to make positive changes in your life.

Are you itching to get your family photos organized and preserved once and for all? I'm crazy-busy right now, creating my first ever teleclass to help you do just that.

Here's the scoop, with all the details that are 100% finalized:

I will teach this class live over the telephone.

There will be 3 classes about an hour each (maybe a little longer for Q&A) on three consecutive weekend afternoons in February, 2008.

There will be a free preview call in late January.

I'm extending a special discount to everyone who requested recordings of my Photo Savers workshop about how to organize photos. Those recordings turned out to be a technological nightmare (the sound quality was terrible) so I had to scrap them. The content of the two workshops is similar, and this seemed like a good way to fix my recording goof.

I'll also be offering a (smaller) discount to my newsletter subscribers.
And, yes -- there's still time to get on those lists so you can get the discount. Just use the handy links.

More details to come, so stay tuned.

I'll also be posting photo organizing tips to this blog in the coming days and weeks.

P.S. If you have questions about the upcoming class, please post them in the comments. I'm not sure how familiar folks are with classes by telephone.

P.P.S. Feel free to post your photo organizing questions, too!

Ask the Archivist: Torn Book Cover

2007-12-27T22:54:00.000-06:00

Two Solutions for a Book with a Broken Cover: Tape vs. Box

Our latest request for help comes from the genea-fabulous Jasia, author of Creative Gene and Creative Genealogy.

Jasia's got a problem with a damaged old book:

I recently bought a big, big old book (1924 city directory) that is about 6" thick, traditionally hard bound. The side has separated from the front cover right along the crease and I'd like to know if there is some sort of tape I can use to hold it together without doing any additional damage to the book.

I'm a regular subscriber to your feed and I very much enjoy your blog. Thanks so much for sharing what you know!

Option 1: Book Repair Tape

Tape is the quickest and easiest way to re-attach the cover of a book. Public libraries do this all the time because their collections take a serious beating. If your goal is usability rather than preservation, peel and stick book tape is a great choice.

These are generally not reversible, which breaks the golden rule of preservation. But, again, if your goal is to be able to use it for years to come and not to keep it in pristine condition then that doesn't really matter.

Metal Edge sells an acid-free linen tape specifically for book repair projects. The adhesive is water activated and might be reversible (I'd call customer service to see). A 50 yard roll of 1" wide tape is $14.90.

Metal Edge also sells a How To booklet on simple book repair for only $1.75: "A simplified 16 page booklet with detailed photos for mending books where the text block has become loose or the end papers & title page are pulling away from the inside of the case. Tipping in loose pages is also covered with detailed photos & instructions."

This clear tape from Gaylord is designed to get the tape in exactly the right position. The paper backing is in three strips which make it easier to remove. It's described as acid-free, non-yellowing and tear-resistant, 33 yards for $15.29.

Option 2: Phase Box

There's often a backlog of rare books that need repairing. Large libraries started putting these fragile and damaged items in snug fitting boxes. They called them "phase boxes" because it was just a temporary storage solution until the book was repaired. Most phase boxes turned out to be permanent.

Metal Edge sells a DIY kit to create your own phase box. Prices range from $6-$16 each, depending on the size.

Each DIY kit is basically two rectangluar pieces of archival board with scored lines. You use two of them to wrap your damaged book up nice and snug. Then you close it with velcro stick-on buttons.

Confused?

It's easier to show than to tell:

Phase boxes are a great way to store any fragile book. It keeps off the dust, protects the book from light and supports it enough to store upright on a shelf. It's easy to write information on the spine of the box, or you can attach a computer printed label if you prefer.

Link Round Up

2007-12-10T07:54:00.000-06:00

NOTE: Last chance to listen to (or download) my Archives Month podcast with the fan-tabulous David Benjamin. He's a Photo Archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society and one of my favorite people. The show we did back in October will only be up for a few more days.

How-to instructions plus a list of topics covered are here.

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Here are some nifty new finds
from the Inter Tubes:

• Collector's Weekly. Wow, what a find! Gorgeous to look at and packed with reviews of the best collectors websites out there. One stop shopping for the choicest sites. Collector's Weekly has it all: Bitters Bottles to 78 RPM to Princess Telephones.

• Technically, Kevin found me...and boy howdy am I glad he did. His Library Preservation blog is full of interesting stuff like Mold Destroys Michigan Library and Scrapbook Preservation tips.

Me? I'm excited about the report on The Great Migration: Audio Preservation in the Digital Age. Because (1) I am a total geek and (2) magnetic tape is decaying fast and there are fewer and fewer vendors manufacturing new tape, which means digital is our only option. It's gonna be a HUGE migration. Let's hope we don't %#^&* it up. Gulp.

• Just for giggles, here's a collection of bizarre data disaster horror stories from 2007, including a man in Thailand who sprayed the interior of his hard drive with insect repellent.

• Best Ever Darth Vader Genealogy Joke.

• Best Ever Spam Revenge:

"Spamtrap" Watch the video!

When "acid free" isn't actually acid free: Can you trust archival supplies to be safe?

2007-12-02T11:11:00.000-06:00

Photo by Joe Nangle

I've been having some trust issues lately.

There's a popular archival supplier whose products seem to be slipping in quality. Then they sent out an email with claims about CD longevity that were misleading at best, utterly false at worst.

This is a HUGE dilemma for me. If I can't trust the quality of their products, I can't recommend them to my readers. And I know people come here to find reliable information about supplies. (Note: The photo storage boxes for sale in the left column are NOT from this manufacturer.)

I'm digging and doing some research. I'll keep you posted about what I discover.

Anyhoo. When I started digging, I discovered Mark Welch's articles. Mark is a scrapbooker. He's also a skeptic. I like to think of him as The Skeptical Scrapbooker, but his pen name is actually the Scrapbook Critic.

How Reliable is the "Acid Free" Label?

Back in early 2006, Mark learned about pH pens for the first time. Test papers for acid content in the comfort of your own home? What a great idea!

Then he visited several craft and scrapbook stores to purchase one so he could test scrapbooking paper. Turns out, scrapbook stores don't actually sell pH testing pens. Interesting, wouldn't you say? So Mark made several purchases online.

In an odd twist, it turns out some of the pens didn't work at all. See Mark's articles (links below) for more details on why certain pens failed.

Way more shocking, however, was the discovery that some papers sold at scrapbooking stores and via home sales were, in fact, acidic. All of those had been clearly marked as acid free, buffered and/or lignin free. Yeowch!

Acid Free Is Not Enough

Paper needs to be lignin free as well. Lignins are a by-product of the paper making process. It's the lignins that turn non-acidic paper to acidic. In other words, something that is acid free today will become acidic over time if the lignins have not been removed.

Benefit of the Doubt

As for me, I am so obsessed with the independent Photographic Activity Test (PAT) that I've always given manufacturers the benefit of the doubt on the "acid free" label. I figured since it was so easy to test at home, a manufacturer would be crazy to pass something acidic as acid free.

Turns out, I was wrong.

Check out Mark's articles for more details -- including the names of manufacturers he no longer trusts:

[Mark's] conclusion is that scrapbookers should buy a pH pen and test each paper they use.

This is not especially cumbersome: it takes just seconds to distress the back of a page and mark it with a pH pen.
Scrupulous retailers should be willing to do this at the checkout stand while the customer watches.
It is not enough to test just one paper from a manufacturer, because paper composition and pH levels may change from one print run to the next.
Unfortunately, a pH pen will not indicate a problem if paper is currently pH neutral, yet contains materials (such as lignins) which will degrade into acids in the future.

Thinking about buying your own pen? Check out the selection of pH pens at Amazon. And when you purchase anything from Amazon via that link (regardless of what it is) it's like leaving a tip for yours truly, without having to fork over any extra money.
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The Practical Archivist has psychic powers!

2007-11-29T21:03:00.000-06:00

Wait!

I'm getting a vision...

Yes, it's getting clearer...

You have a box of old, unsorted photos at home.

Oh, I crack myself up.

I read an entertaining article online called "I see dumb people" - Learn to cold-read like a so-called "psychic." Apparently, one of the tricks is to be as vague as possible and say something that could be applied to just about anyone.

I bet you can guess what one of the suggestions was.

Hey, maybe you're psychic, too!

I am SO going to amuse myself at future networking events with the fake psychic bit. If you live in the Madison area, consider yourself warned.

© Photographer: Photowitch | Agency: Dreamstime.com
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Practical advice on what NOT to do when your hard drive fails

2007-11-27T21:28:00.000-06:00

Hard drive failure.

It's a nightmare, no doubt about it. And it will happen to you eventually.

Here's a quick tip on what you should never do if your hard drive crashes: Restart the machine.

Why?

Because accidentally deleted files could be overwritten. Permanently, irrevocably overwritten.

Below is a peek at a damaged JPEG file. The MZ in the right hand column is where it was overwritten. This photo was completely lost.

But, wait a minute!

If you can't start up the computer, how on earth can you run the software that will attempt to recover your data?

According to Computerworld, if you don't have a bootable CD you've got to remove the hard drive from the machine and either install it in another computer as a secondary disk drive or attach it to another machine.

I learned all this from a great article in Computerworld:

Surviving a home data disaster: How Shirley got her files back.

Author Robert Mitchell explains:

My experience should give you a good idea of what you'd face in a similar situation -- as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the tools and techniques a recovery expert used to recover Shirley's files. Along the way, you'll also find tips on what you can do to prevent problems in the first place and ensure the best possible outcome when -- not if -- a data recovery problem crops up on your machine.

Read the full article here.

And then go back up all your important files. Anything you don't want to lose. You won't regret it. Heck, you might even sleep a little easier.
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Beautifully anachronistic HTTP error message

2007-11-25T17:08:00.000-06:00

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You know how sometimes you click on a link and get an error message that says something like: 404 File Not Found?

Apelad created a set of illustrations for these kinds of HTTP error messages. You can see all of them in his flickr set.

My favorite is the one you see above. It's for the 415 error message, which is "Unsupported Media Type."
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161 Meme: Sixth line on page 161

2007-11-20T21:46:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged by my friend Denise from the Family Matters blog. My task is to open up a book I'm reading to page 161 and share the 6th sentence. Then I need to tag five more bloggers to continue the meme.

I'm reading several books right now, here are the two that fit in best with the what I blog about here at Practical Archivist.

1. Playback: From the Victrola to MP3, 100 Years of Music, Machines, and Money. By Mark Coleman. It boggles my mind that recorded sound has been around for a little over 100 years (not that long, really) but somehow we're stuck with a gazillion dead formats. Page 161 is in the section on the history of home taping (you listening RIAA?) and it deals with cassettes:

Japanese manufacturers began adding cassette players to hi-fi systems in the early 1970s.

Now you could tape a copy of almost anything you heard.

2. The Geek Gap: Why Business and Technology Professionals Don't Understand Each Other and Why They Need Each Other to Survive. By Bill Pfleging and Minda Zetlin. The 6th sentence on page 161 kinda sums up the entire theme of the book:

In the end, it goes back to the issue of influencing people versus problem solving -- the fundamental difference between business and technology people.

I hereby tag the following bloggers:

1. Mary & Brady of This Book Is for You (Two for the price of one!)
2. Sara of The Steampunk Home
3. Marty at Ephemera
4. DIY Maven at Curbly
5. Jen at Domestik Goddess

Update. Don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. Guess I was just following the rules blindly. Tag, you're it. Leave a comment below and share the sixth line from page 161 of your book. The rules say it has to be something you're reading right now, but I also like the idea of grabbing a random book off your shelf.
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Email obsolete? Is that even possible?

2007-11-18T08:45:00.000-06:00

Why do technologies become obsolete? Because something easier, cheaper, better (or sometimes just better marketed) comes along.

Is email becoming obsolete? There's a new generation of internet users who don't use email and probably never will, unless they are forced to use it at work.

Below are excerpts from an eye-opening article by Chad Lorenz. It appeared in Slate earlier this week, and it's called "Teenagers are abandoning their Yahoo! and Hotmail accounts. Do the rest of us have to?"

I can still remember the proud moment in 1996 when I sent my first e-mail from the college computer lab. It felt like sending a postcard from the future. I was getting a glimpse of how the Internet would change everything—nothing could be faster and easier than e-mail. Ten years later, e-mail is looking obsolete.

Obviously, email isn't technologically obsolete. The software still works and it's updated and supported. What's actually happening is nothing more than a classic generation gap.

If you are under the age of 25, you don't use email. You might have an email address, but basically you ignore it. And you certainly don't use it to keep in touch with your friends. Instead you use Instant Messaging (IM) or Facebook or Myspace.

Can we prevent email obsolescence? Chad doesn't think so.

So, is the solution to browbeat these little rebels back in line and enforce mandatory e-mail usage? Good luck. Chances are, as usual, that the grown-ups will be the ones who are forced to adapt. Colleges have already thrown up their hands and created Facebook and MySpace pages to stay in touch with students.

My favorite line from the article: I realized that my agility with e-mail no longer marked me as a tech-savvy young adult. It made me a lame old fogey.

Ouch. Chad, as one old fogey to another, I feel your pain. Read the rest of Chad's article (including links to supporting research) here.

P.S. Hey you kids get outta my yard!
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Can Vector Magic De-Pixelate a Photo?

2007-11-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

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Why Would I Want Vectorization?

It allows you to blow up images a lot. We're talking really big. Banner sized. If you blew up a TIFF or JPEG file that large, it would look like an abstract mosaic. Terrible.

Vectorization is the process of converting a raster image to a vector image. Raster images are pixel-based. Vector images are represented by geometric shapes such as lines, circles and curves.

Vector Magic is a free web-based tool from the good folks at Stanford. No registration or login required.

Is Vector Magic Good At Vectorizing?

Absolutely. When I started with a high quality image, the before and after looked very similar. I'd give it an A.

Just perfect for blowing up your logo big enough to be seen from across a room. Or the anniversary photo that's going on a poster at the dinner party.

Can Vector Magic De-Pixelate an Image?

Er, yes but...it looks a little funky.

The vectorized version of my simpsons avatar is kinda abstract, but for the most part it's cool. What creeps me out is the two different pupil sizes. So I'd give it a B-. If I really needed to blow this up, I would go back and play with the various options more.

I also created a very low resolution thumbnail to test the limits of the de-pixelation powers of Vector Magic. I'd give it a C-.

If you're into digital scrapbooking, you could use it as a paint-by-numbers effect.

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Can you fix a pixelated photo?

2007-11-14T07:38:00.000-06:00

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From the folks at Photojojo comes advice on how to de-pixelate photos:

Ever had Grandma Edna email you her latest vacation cruise photos, only to find the images so small and pixelated that she and Gramps look like they were made of LEGOs?

VectorMagic has the answer.

A free website from the folks down at Stanford, VectorMagic takes your raster images and turns them into smooth vector drawings. Unlike raster images, vector drawings are made of geometric shapes instead of pixels, so you can infinitely resize them with no fuzzy or blockiness! This makes them ideal for blowing up a small photo to, say, the size of your bedroom wall.

Try it for yourself...Vector Magic is web-based and completely free. No registration or login required.

Vector Magic — Convert Photographs to Vector Images Automatically

Next up: Details on what happened when I put Vector Magic through the paces, including before & after screen shots. You know, the old side by side comparison. (Hint: The results were mixed.)
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Ask the Archivist: The photos scanned by my cousin look terrible! Is there anything I can do?

2007-11-13T22:15:00.000-06:00

Genealogists and family historians have swapped ancestor photos for as long as photography has been around.

These days, it's easier than ever to scan and share photos.

But what can you do if your cousin sends you scans that look terrible?

Becca has that problem, and she turned to The Practical Archivist for help.

Hi Sally,

I have a question that no one seems to know the answer to, and I thought maybe you can help.

My cousin scanned about 100 or so pictures into a zipfile and put them on the family website about 2 years ago. I happened to save those pictures on a cd as well as on my computer. I recently rediscovered them. The problem is most of them are coming up in a very small format, like thumbnail size and when i go to zoom in I lose the definition, does that make sense?

Is there anyway to get the pictures to a 'normal' size so I can actually see the faces that are in the pictures? If you have any ideas, they would surely help. I emailed my cousin, but he thinks that they are on a different server locked away in a basement somewhere...grrr.

Thank you so much!

Becca Denos

There are two reasons why Becca's digital ancestors are so tiny:

1. The original photos were scanned at both high and low resolutions, and somehow Becca is stuck with the smaller thumbnails only.

The obvious solution is to ask her cousin for the larger files. Unfortunately, Becca already tried this solution and it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

2. The original photos were scanned at low resolution, and there aren't any high resolution scans available.

Until this week, my only advice was to ask the cousin to re-scan the originals, which is not always possible....

Then I learned about Vector Magic from Photojojo's awesome newsletter. More details on this intriguing web-based free application tomorrow.

Now it's your turn: Do you have digital photos that are tiny and/or pixelated? Do you know why they are so small? Share your story in the comments section.
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Ask the Archivists - Free podcast available

2007-10-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

OK, it's not available via iTunes -- which I suspect means it's not technically a "podcast" -- but the MP3 recording of my recent radio show with Photo Archivist David Benjamin is yours to download.

Topics Covered.

For my archivist readers, I'll explain it in archival speak: We covered processing plans, appraisal, weeding, artifactual vs. informational value, digital migration and storage environment.

For everyone else, here's what we covered in regular English:

1. How to get started with a large photo project.
2. How to decide what to keep.
3. What to do with the stuff you don't want to keep.
4. Whether you should save original newspaper or copy it onto acid-free paper.
5. How to ensure that your digital photos will last as long as possible.
6. The best place to store your photographs.

Plus questions from callers: What to do with slides, and what on earth is going on when the colors of your digital prints don' t match what you see on your screen.

How to listen to and/or download our 60 minute show.

Visit this web site: http://lists.wort-fm.org/parchive

Scroll down a bit till you find the Access Hour dated Monday, October 15, 2007.

In the right hand column you will see two choices: Play and Download.

Choose your poison, as they say. If you don't want to keep a copy or add it to your iPod, you can simply listen to it online and move on. If you'd like to keep a copy (hi, Mom!) right click on 'download' and choose 'save target as'.

FYI, the recording will only remain online until about December 10, 2007.

Rights: You are welcome to keep a copy for yourself and pass it along as long as you don't sell it.

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Ask the Archivist: Another Radio Call-In Show!

2007-10-12T07:58:00.000-05:00

Great news! The Practical Archivist is celebrating Archives Month by taking over the airwaves once again.

On Monday, October 15th I'll be co-hosting another radio call-in program on our local community radio station WORT-FM. This time around, photo archivist David Benjamin will join me. David is the Visual Materials archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison. He's also one of my favorite people in the world. We are going to have a LOT of fun on this show, folks.

While part of the content will be determined by your questions, we promise to provide tips on how to organize and downsize your photographs. David and I are both hard-core advocates for the need to purge family photos.

Don't panic, my genealogy friends! We're not talking about your oldest and rarest treasures. Nope. We're talking about the 60,000 vacation slides you still have from 1964. The great-great grandkids aren't going to want all of them. They just aren't.

Another topic we'll be certain to cover is how important migration is if you want to preserve your digital photos. For better or worse, the days of tossing photos in a box, stashing them in the closet and forgetting about 'em are long gone.

Got a question for the archivists? WORT has a live web stream and a toll-free number, which means you can call us live on the air from anywhere in the U.S. -- even if you don't live in Madison, Wisconsin.

We can answer questions about taking care of photographs, letters, diaries, family bibles, home movies and digital records of any kind. We would LOVE to hear from you!

You can also post a question to the comments section here on the Practical Archivist blog. David and I will bring those questions with us and will answer them if the phones aren't ringing off the hook. (Something we both fear and dread.) Questions that don't get answered on the air will go into the queue for our new Ask the Archivist feature. How's that for win-win?

Is there any special reason why this show is airing in October? Yep, there is. David and I thought it would be a wonderful way to celebrate Archives Month in Wisconsin. We love teaching folks how to protect their one-of-a-kind family archives from the ravages of time.

Organizing and Preserving Your Family Treasures
Radio Call-In Show
WORT 89.9 FM :: Madison, WI
Monday, October 15th, 2007
7:00-8:00pm Central Time
Toll Free Number: (866) 899-9678

Listen to WORT's Live Web Stream here:
http://wort-fm.org/listen.php

Not sure what time we'll be on the air where you live?
Time Zone Converter (Choose "America/Chicago")

Wait! I can't listen live on Monday night. Will a recording be available? WORT will record the show. It will be available for free on WORT's website for a few weeks. I'll keep you posted on how to get a copy.

Some of you may remember that I also hosted a similar call-in show earlier this year with my buddy Lisa sitting in as my Ed McMahon. I have a recording of that show which I will attempt to upload to my Jacobs Archival website. I'll post a note here when it's available.
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Ask the Archivist: Digitally copying a family history binder

2007-10-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

NEW FEATURE! ASK THE ARCHIVIST. Real questions from family archivists, just like you. Look for this feature on a regular basis. Would you like to see your question here? Email me.

OUR FIRST "ASK THE ARCHIVIST" QUERY

Hi Sally,

I happened to find your interesting blog by just poking around on the Internet. My question doesn't fit neatly into one of the broader topics.

Within the past week I came into possession of a family history binder that was created in the late 1980s. The family member who created it died in 1996. The binder is composed of several hundred 8 1/2" x 11" pages that are typewritten text only, as well as pages that have typewritten text next to photographs that were pasted with a glue stick.

Since I need to return this binder to the family member who loaned it to me, I wanted to digitize it and then create a hard copy for myself.

What I have done so far is digitize the text-only pages by scanning them at 150 or 300 dpi as JPGs (depending on the degree of non-typewritten text that is detailed), but I'm unsure how to proceed with the mixed text / photo pages. I could scan these pages as TIFFs, but the file sizes would be very large. Or, I could just scan as a black & white document as I have the text-only pages, and then scan the pictures separately, then cut and paste them in - but that would be for dozens of pages.

So, what I'm looking for is the quickest, easiest and best way to scan these mixed text / photo pages an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet at a time. Any thoughts on how to best proceed that would let me keep the binder and pages intact? If you could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for any help you could provide.

Robert M.
Knoxville, TN

MY PROPOSED SOLUTION

Robert,

As with all digitization projects, you'll have to choose at the outset between "quickest/easiest" and "best quality."

Best means high resolution TIFF files with a resolution of 300 dpi @ 100%. That will mean more storage space than if you saved your scans as JPEGs, but with the price of external hard drives so low -- this certainly isn't the financial hardship it was just a few years ago.

Your plan to make your own hard copy of the binder is an excellent one. Consider this copy to be your long term preservation plan for the family history binder. There is safety in numbers, of course, so be sure to add the data to your other family history databases and filing systems.

Here's the hybrid approach I recommend for your digitization project:

Scan each of the 8.5 x 11 sheets and save them as PDF files.

Print all of these out on a regular laser printer.

Store your new sheets in a binder that is not made out of vinyl. If you like to use sheet protectors, be sure they are made of an inert plastic like polypropylene. Avoid cheap office supply sheet protectors.

Create a separate scan of any photograph you want to keep long term and/or reproduce as a photo.

Create a high quality print of each photo by uploading the digital to the commercial printer of your choice. I like Shutterfly because they offer the option of printing a caption on the back of each print at no extra charge. Why they don't emphasize this feature is beyond me...

Use photo corners to attach each photo to its the corresponding sheet in the correct spot. You will be covering up the laser printer version of the same photo.

And, yes -- I do recommend color scans for black and white photographs. Vintage prints are rarely black and white. There are gradations of color including some warm brown tones that you don't want to lose.

Sincerely,

Sally J.
The Practical Archivist

Question for Practical Archivist Readers: Have you tackled a project like this? Do you have an alternate solution? Let us know by using the comments section. Anonymous comments are allowed. Spam, as always, is not.

Do you have a question about how to take care of your family treasures? Email me.
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Optical scanning of discs for digitization

2007-10-03T07:31:00.000-05:00

I worry a lot about the fate of old sound recordings.

Although recorded sound has only been around for a little over 100 years, our archives, basements and attics are bursting with a legacy of multiple obsolete formats. To add insult to injury, each time you play an original recording you destroy some of the quality.

Digitization can help, but there's lots of requirements for digitization.

Here's a brief list of what you need:

A skilled and experienced audio engineer.
Correct playback equipment -- including all parts -- in working order.
Digitization equipment.
Secure digital storage.
Cataloging and metadata so you can find the digital files again.
A big honkin' grant to pay for all the equipment and staff time.

Of course, there's always the danger that playing an old recording may destroy it.

My friend Angela clued me into an amazing new process that mitigates some of the problems with digitization of audio. There's a Library of Congress project called IRENE that makes it possible to copy old disc recordings without touching them. It's a kind of remote sensing, like scanning an LP.

They can even scan a disc that has broken into pieces. They just place the pieces together like a puzzle and scan it. Software erases the anomalies. Suh-weet.

Hear an NPR story with before and after samples when you click this link. Scroll down to the bottom to see other NPR stories about sound recordings. Great stuff here!

Related stories:
Good Night, IRENE: Technology of Dreams
IRENE page at Library of Congress
Historic wax cylinder project at UCSB
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Digital preservation hits the small screen

2007-09-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

I love it when the challenges of digital preservation hit the main stream press. It shocks me how few people understand how fragile digital files are. Which reminds me, before we get to the TV clip, I want to thank the New York Times for tearing down their pay wall. Now I can post links that won't expire, which is nice.
So anyways, there's an ABC News program called "Ahead of the Curve." Below is a link to an interview with Martha Anderson, acting director of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program at the Library of Congress.

Click here to watch the video. A short commercial promo will run first, sorry 'bout that.

[Link via ResourceShelf]

Transform any digital photo into a genuine daguerreotype

2007-09-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

Honestly, people -- if this sort of delightful coincidence* keeps happening I'll have no choice but to start thinking of the Internet as some kind of magic happy wish machine.

Remember my post about how to tell the difference between a daguerreotype and an ambrotype? I mused about how much I'd love to have a dag of a modern marvel like an ipod or the fabulous steampunk Neverwas Haul. If you visit the original post, you'll see a comment from Mr. John Danforth, Modern Daguerreotypist.

And here's the coolest part:

John Danforth loves to hand craft daguerreotypes for people based on existing photos they already have. John says high resolution color digital files work best. Many of his customers choose a favorite wedding photograph to be rendered as a beautiful keepsake.

How much does it cost? Well, considering the fact that each one is handmade it shouldn't be a surprise that they aren't cheap. A 4x5 inch daguerreotype will cost you $400, a whole plate (6.5x8.5") will put you back $800-$1,200 depending on whether you want to frame it or have it in a custom leather case. All of John's daguerreotypes are glazed with anti-reflective, ultra-clear museum glass.

Why Daguerreotypes? According to John, there are two main reasons. The first is the incredible detail you get using this process. Anyone lucky enough to have seen a dag knows exactly what he's talking about. The other reason is close to my heart: Longevity.

Longevity is very important to me because I want our way of life to be recorded in an accurate and accessible manner for our descendants. Because of this belief, I find it necessary to work in a medium that has longevity that can be measured in centuries and millennia. Do you believe that anyone will know what to do with a CD-ROM full of JPEG files in 10,000 years? Could you play an Edison wax cylinder if I brought one over to your house today?

D-reamy.

I contacted John and he's willing to submit to some interview questions via email from yours truly. Contact me if there are any questions you'd like me to ask.

Other links of interest:
John Danforth's website
John's pages on newdags.com
Daguerreotype of 9/11
vintage dags in pantufla's flikr collection

*The other coincidence was when I mused about how cool it would be to dye photo prints with coffee. Turns out my friend's brother does exactly that...with cyanotypes. And then Mark gave me his hauntingly beautiful hummingbirds print. (Many, many thanks, Mark.) See what I mean about magic happy wish machine?

[Photo Credit: That's John in his studio, from a gallery about making dags on his website. I'm not sure who took the photo, but you can see the photographer's feet. :-)]

Can I destroy my originals after I digitize them?

2007-09-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

Jill Hurst-Wahl has a wonderful blog called Digitization 101. It's aimed mostly at institutions like libraries and historical societies, but it's full of wise advice for the family historian, too.

If you work or volunteer with an organization thinking about a digitization project, I highly recommend you check out what Jill has to say. She has wise words on all aspects of digitization, including hardware/software, copyright, metadata and preservation.

This week she has a great post titled Can I destroy my originals after I digitize them?

Jill's conclusion?

The bottom-line is that destroying the originals after digitizing them should not be taken lightly. Really think about the implications. Put yourself 10 - 20 years in the future and think about what the implications of your decision might be. Is destroying the originals a decision that you will regret (or that your successors will regret)?

My conclusion? See my earlier post: Why "Scan & Dump" Is a Bad Idea (I'm talking to you, Tuscaloosa!)

UPDATE: By some strange coincidence, DearMYRTLE has a post about an apparent change is policy in Tuscaloosa. Well, it's actually no more than a verbal promise. Ol Myrt is too savvy to confuse that with an actual change in policy. Read Myrt's post for the full story.

Create Social Bookmark Links

Removing scratches from a CD or DVD

2007-09-16T22:30:00.000-05:00

You probably know that scratches on a CD or DVD can make them un-playable. If you have young children or work in a public library, you know this only too well.

I've safely cleaned smudges off of pre-recorded DVDs using a soft cloth dampened with a little water, but I've never attempted to remove scratches. However, I know lots of librarians who do this routinely and manage to get a playable DVD out of the process.

I found a video tutorial you'll likely remember for a long long time, but before you watch it I want you to read my disclaimers:

1. Your best bet is to treat your CDs correctly so they don't get scratched in the first place. Put them back in a case with a center hub, don't use sleeves, and don't leave them lying around. I know that's obvious, but prevention really is the best cure -- in fact, it's the foundation of every professional preservation program.

2. Keep in mind that a scratch on the top is far more dangerous than a scratch on the bottom. Why? Because the data layer is closer to the top. See my earlier article: Have You Been Protecting the Wrong Side of Your CDs?

3. When cleaning discs, always wipe from the center outward, not around the disc. You'll see in the video that this rule is broken. It's one of my main criticisms of it. This is because cleaning can cause it's own scratches. If you have a scratch that travels in the same direction as the reading laser (around the disc) it's difficult for the reader to compensate around it. A scratch that radiates outward is only passed by the laser once per revolution.

4. Using a window cleaner is kinda crazy. Don't ever do this on a disc that holds critical data. Do whatever you want to music and movie discs -- especially if they are skipping and pixelating. If you have scanned family photos and you want the data to survive long term, I simply can't recommend using strong chemical sprays.

Ready for the fun video already?

Push play...

How To Remove CD Scratches With A Banana

Careful what you cache...because nice folks fight back

2007-09-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

While I was away on various summer vacations, I missed a major brouhaha in the online genealogical community. There have been many, many pixels spilled on this topic already, so I'll try to be brief.

For those of you who don't know, Ancestry.com is part of the largest for-profit genealogy company in the world. (Source: Wikipedia). Earlier this month, they cached (copied) entire web pages of genealogical content off the Internet and served them up as part of their "Internet Biographical Collection." Initially, this content was available only to paying subscribers.

There was a major uproar, including accusations of intellectual property theft.

Ancestry.com quickly moved the collection to a section that required registration for access, but no fees were necessary to see the content. After continued criticisms, they pulled the "Internet Biographical Collection" entirely and apologized to the genealogical community.

If you missed the smackdown, Kimberly at genealogy.about.com has a nice summary, complete with links to posts by all the major players.

Oh, and speaking of nice...

At the same time this controversy broke, family history bloggers were busy spreading the love by tagging each other as Nice Bloggers.

I kid you not.

Denise Olsen of Family Matters started her More Naughty Than Nice post thusly: "Becky, thank you for including me as a nominee for the Nice Matters award although if you saw the steam coming out my ears at the moment, you might want to reconsider. . ." Then she tagged me as nice. Thanks, Denise!

So, my friends. What have we learned from all of this?

1. Family history bloggers are are tech savvy, and they keep in touch with each other.

2. Just because someone gladly shares information for free on their website, it doesn't mean you can skip the part where you ask permission before you copy entire pages of his or her work. That's not just copyright law, that's good ethics and good business.

3. Nice doesn't mean you don't fight back when you feel cheated. Family history bloggers are an extremely nice bunch of folks, (it's true, they really are) but they do NOT take kindly to you publishing their content without asking first.

4. Companies like Ancestry will change policy (quickly, I might add!) and apologize when faced with such resounding criticism.

But wait! Did Ancestry.com violate copyright or not?

I spent several years in charge of clearing permissions for a major children's publisher. Even that doesn't make me an expert. Basically, I know enough about copyright to realize that I don't know jack about copyright.

Fortunately, Craig Manson (of GeneaBlogie) threw his expertise into the ring. Craig wrote a multi-part series called “Did Ancestry Violate the Copyright Law?" He teaches Law and Public Policy at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and he is a member of the California Bar.

I highly recommend all of Craig's posts about copyright.

P.S. I nominate Mary for a Nice Matters Award.
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Ambrotype or Daguerreotype? A quick and easy way to tell the difference

2007-09-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

There are two types of cased images you might find in your family collection: ambrotypes and daguerreotypes.

The quick and easy way to tell the difference between the two is that a daguerreotype will look like a mirror when you move it in the light. An ambrotype will not.

I was thinking about this today when I put away an ambrotype I purchased on ebay. It was listed as a daguerreotype. I don't think this was a deliberate deception, just ignorance.

For more information about these hauntingly beautiful cased images, check out Wikipedia's entries for ambrotype and daguerreotype.

The daguerreotype entry says this:

Daguerreotypy continues to be practiced by enthusiastic photographers to this day, although in much smaller numbers; there are thought to be fewer than 100 worldwide. Its appeal lies in the "magic mirror" effect of light reflected from the polished silver plate through the perfectly sharp silver image, and in the sense of achievement derived from the dedication and hand-crafting required to make a daguerreotype.

Wait a minute...

There are artists who use these historic photo processes today?

Talk about a beautiful anachronism! I would pay oodles of money for a daguerreotype or ambrotype of an iPod. Not that I have a budget for that kind of frivolity, but still. The Wiki has several links to these contemporary artists if that idea intrigues you, too.

[photo credit] "Erika" Ambrotype on black glass by artist/photographer Quinn Jacobson. Made May 2007, Viernheim, Germany.

UPDATE: OK. Forget what I said about the iPod. That was just the first thing that came into my head. What I really want is to see a daguerreotype or ambrotype of the Neverwas Haul.
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Like a bad penny...

2007-09-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hiya!

I'm back from my much needed vacation. Two delightful family vacations, actually. With a visit to the Society of American Archivists' annual conference in Chicago in between. In Chicago, I had a chance to gab with fellow archival bloggers, which was fab.

So, yeah. I'm back. Woo hoo! But folks, I gotta tell ya -- it was so so so gratifying to unplug for a spell. I hope you didn't miss me too much. Thanks to everyone who checked in via email while I was gone. That was sweet.

Lot of stuff happened while I was gone, including a major uproar in the online genealogical community. Who knew such nice folks could be so scrappy in a throwdown? Long story short, one of the major genie companies (Ancestry.com) cached entire websites without permission, and then turned around and sold the content to subscribers. For about 24 hours, anyway. Until the bloggers got whiff of it and essentially shut down the "Internet Biographical Database." More dish to come, for those of you who missed it.

I'll also post about the oldest treasures owned and used by Practical Archivist readers, including yours truly. Before I do that, though, I need to get some more information about a footstool made by my husband's great (great?) grandfather. So there's still time to share your own treasures. All you have to do is leave a comment here. Anonymous comments are OK, spammy comments (as always) are not.

Retro Selecto [photo credit]. How about that vintage telephone ad up there? Dreamy, isn't it? I have a serious weakness for punchcards. Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate, heh. I found it on the supremely cool new blog from the mad geniuses at Boing Boing. It's called Boing Boing Gadgets and oh man is it delicious.

Talk amongst yourselves...

2007-08-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

I'm on my way out of town for a much needed family vacation.

While I'm away, I'm leaning on ya'll to keep the content of The Practical Archivist blog fresh & interesting.

I'm unabashedly stealing from two of my favorite entertainers.

From Mike Myers, I'm stealing the Linda Richman trick of stating a topic an imploring viewers to discuss.

From Chris over at Genealogue, I'm stealing the topic of discussion (which he nicked from a neat-o thread at Mental Floss).

* What's the oldest thing you own?

* What's the oldest thing you use regularly?

(OK. I admit it's not as funny as "The Thigh Master is neither a thigh nor a master. Discuss." but I do what I can...)

Turns out Higgins of Mental Floss fame looked around his house and had a hard time finding anything from earlier than 1990. (!) He then asks: "Am I living in an unusually modern space, or does everybody pretty much live around new stuff? Have people always had all-new stuff, or is this a recent development? What does it say about my job that all the tools I use for work (computers and such) are all, at most, about three years old?"

What do you say, family archivists? I'm thinking we can smoke the Mental Floss readership in the history department.

How you can help: Leave a note in the comments field about your oldest treasures. Upload a photo (or photos) to Flickr with the tag "oldestpractical" and I'll feature it in my first post after I return next week. I'll also reveal my oldest treasures.

One last note: This seems like a good time to run down the rules for the Practical Archivist comments section: No spam. No dissing other people's treasures.

Thanks for your assistance, dear readers. I'm off to the Chippewa Valley. Woo hoo!
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Happy 25th, Compact Disc!

2007-08-18T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday -- August 17, 2007 -- was the CD's 25th birthday.

Who could have predicted that this little piece of plastic would become a common storage medium for digital documents and photographs? (Extra credit question: When was the last time you saw a floppy disk?)

Who imagined back in the 80s that we'd be able to buy cheap blank discs for pennies and burn them at home? Not me, that's for sure.

Wired has an article about this anniversary. Here's my favorite blurb, which serves as an excellent reminder that the only constant is change:

By 1988 CDs outsold records. Now, the CD may be seeing the end of its days. CD sales have fallen sharply to 553 million sold in the United States last year, a 22 percent drop from its 2001 peak of 712 million, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Netbuzz (via Slashdot) has an article, too. This one is much funnier, and it's aimed at the youngbloods:

Gather 'round kids cuz Grandpa Buzzblog is gonna tell a story.

Remember how your jaws all dropped the first time you saw HD-TV and realized how much better it was than crappy ol' regular TV? Well, your Gramps and his homies had a similar epiphany 25 years ago when the compact disc first emerged as an alternative to records. What's a record? … Another story for another day, kids, lemme go on here while I still have the wind.

Although they were introduced in 1982, I didn't purchase my first CD until 1988. I didn't even have a player at the time, but I found a copy of Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights on a clearance rack and couldn't resist. If I remember correctly, the first commercial music CDs would set you back about 20 bucks. Which was about twice as much as a new LP at the time. I didn't get a player until the early 90s, when I was in charge of pricing the used CDs at Half Price Books.

That's right, folks -- The Practical Archivist is not an early adopter.

How about you, do you remember your first CD? Leave a comment if you do.
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Do all your photos look the same?

2007-08-16T07:28:00.000-05:00

Ask yourself this:

If a stranger took a peek at your 500 most recent photographs, would they all look the same?

Then remind yourself that your great-grandchildren will more than likely be strangers to you. Will they really want to keep all of your photographs?

Try a new perspective the next time you're snapping away. Get down on the ground. Climb up on a chair. Stand behind your subject. For really powerful portraits, don't be afraid to get real close.

My brother took this incredibly sweet photograph of my nephew Charlie last month. It tells a story about how tiny he is at this age that other photographs simply don't capture. Now don't get me wrong -- I need LOTS of photos of his chubby yummy face, too. But I need photos like this one as well.

Read more of my advice about purging your photo collection of dreck:

Photo Organizing Tips: What to Keep?
5 Tips for Preserving Your Family Photographs (Tip #1: You can't keep everything.)
Shhh...can you hear what your photos are saying?
What to Keep? What to Toss?

Beautifully anachronistic Victorian steampunk computer

2007-08-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but need a break from all the headaches of digital preservation. Lots of questions and speculation, very few concrete answers.

I'll return to this topic in a while (I promise) but until then, let's take a break and have a bit of fun, eh?

The video above is a delightful peek into Datamancer's steampunk workshop.

What is steampunk?

This video from the Wall Street Journal is a nice introduction to the genre. For more info, check out the Wikipedia entry or visit one of my favorite steampunk blogs:

P.S. I love how Mr. Datamancer weilds that leatherman tool thing-a-majig. A cross between a Zippo trick and a rock n' roll drummer. Hooray for the tinkers!

UPDATE: According to Sneaky Business, there could be an off-the-shelf steampunk laptop available in the future. If it starts with a key, I will swoon.
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Reader questions and comments re: JPEG

2007-08-12T08:17:00.000-05:00

Readers comment on JPEG, The Practical Archivist responds.

One of the reasons why I keep harping on JPEG is that I want you to realize that the format used by digital cameras might disappear someday. Obsolescence ain't pretty, and if you're like most people you probably never think about it.

Anyhoo. I started to to address the new questions in the comments section, but figured that if I pulled everything into a new post more folks could join in the discussion.

**PLEASE NOTE: My comments are in BLUE -- so reading this via RSS feed will be confusing. You might want to click through and read this post on the blog itself.

The Legacy Lady said...: I have often wondered what would be the best way to preserve my digital files. I shoot in RAW format and save a backup of those files as digital negatives. From there I process in photoshop and save JPEG - your post has me thinking I should possible look at tiff format - which is supposedly the best way to save without the compression of a JPEG.; Legacy Lady, TIFF is considered "best archival practice" in large part because it is completely lossless and uncompressed. TIFF is also preferred because it isn't tied to any single company or camera manufacturer.; For images that are born digitally as JPEG files (family snapshots, for example) you can choose to keep them as JPEGs or convert them to TIFF. You'll need a software program like Photoshop to do this.; REMEMBER YOU CAN ALWAYS PRINT OUT YOUR FAVORITES. For family snapshots this is my A#1 preservation advice. It's cheaper than ever and you only have to print the ones you really love. Compared to what we used to spend on film developing, this cost is minimal.


Reader eckenheimer addressed some of Legacy Lady's questions. [Again, my comments are in blue]...: Legacy Lady, here are a few comments on your post:

* The raw "negatives" are a great idea, but be aware that older raw formats can disappear and programs to process them years from now may be difficult to find. I'm being a bit paranoid here, but it's happened before. Agreed. Betamax, anyone?

* Please be certain to store one copy of the DVD/CD in a remote location in case of fire, tornado, theft, etc. at your home. Yes! Offsite storage is key. And in the case of large scale disasters like hurricanes, you'll want that offsite location to be far away and not just across town in your office.

* There's no "do it and forget it" kind of easy answer with digital. Periodic updating or upgrading is a fact of our digital life. This is so true. It's not a pretty picture. Yep. Our old methods for dealing with photos are not at all helpful in the digital environment.

* Highest quality jpeg is a lot smaller in size and very nearly as good as tiff, except for large format, high resolution color photographs. It's easy to do a side by side comparison to decide whether it's satisfactory for you.

While very high quality JPEG may look similar to TIFF to the naked eye, it's not just image quality that is the issue here. One of the major problems with lossy compression like JPEG is that altering the image in any way (change its size, add a caption, crop it, color enhance it, etc. etc. etc.) results in a loss of quality every time you save the new information.

If you are not going to make any changes, then you don't need to worry much. Except for the fact that the JPEG format itself may fall out of favor and become obsolete. (see original post for more details).

Coffee-stained cyanotypes

2007-08-08T21:51:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, you put a question out to the universe and something marvelous comes back. Just last week, I featured DIY Maven's neat-o method for antiquing paper using instant coffee. I mused about how cool it would be to dye photographs using coffee. Ersatz sepia. (Read the original post here.)

Then I got an email from my friend Bob. Turns out his brother makes his own cyanotypes. Then he dyes them in wine. Or he dyes them in coffee.

The result is spooky-cool, and the images look like they've washed up from another era. Those hauntingly beautiful plastic hummingbirds you see above are just one example. There's even an El Camino, be still my heart. Check out Mark's photography blog.

What is a cyanotype?
To create a cyanotype all you need is two chemicals, negative film, sunlight and water. The two chemicals dissolved in water become a photo-sensitive solution that you paint onto paper. After exposure to UV rays and rinsing in water, the two chemicals react in such a way that you are left with a permanent dye called Prussian Blue.

If you've ever seen a vintage blueprint, you've seen a cyanotype.

The process was discovered in 1842, but it didn't become photography until Anna Atkins got her hands on it a year later. Ms. Atkins -- a scientist who is credited as the first female photographer -- created a limited series of cyanotypes by pressing ferns and other botanical specimens onto the light sensitive paper and exposing them to sunlight.

Read more about cyanotypes in (on?) The Wiki.

[Photo Credits: Mark Hemauer, Anna Atkins cyanotypes via wikipedia.]

Microsoft's new format could replace JPEG within a year

2007-08-03T07:10:00.000-05:00

Just days after I wrote about how Microsoft is making a concerted effort to render JPEG obsolete, I learned that folks in the library/archives world have been discussing the possibility of JPEG 2000 as an acceptable format for long term digital preservation. Instead of, or in addition to, TIFF.

I learned about this from Jill Hurst Wall's Digitization 101 blog. Jill had a post about JPEG 2000, which led me to a post at Peter Murray's blog (still with me?) in which he gives 5 reasons why he thinks JPEG 2000 is a good choice for preservation. For more information, see the official JPEG2000 page and wikipedia entry.

But before you get too excited about JPEG 2000...

Yesterday brought some important news from the digital photo preservation front, via ArsTechnica. Here's the opening paragraph:

Microsoft's ongoing attempt to establish its own photo format as a JPEG alternative (and potential successor) took another step forward today when the JPEG standards group agreed to consider HD Photo (originally named Windows Media Photo) as a standard. If successful, the new file standard will be known as JPEG XR.

The best news about this is that JPEG XR (what the JPEG standards group is calling Microsoft's HD Photo format) has lossless compression, which is a great improvement over the original JPEG format. But then so did JPEG 2000.

For more information about Microsoft's HD Photo, read the full article at ArsTechnica.com.

No word yet on how easy/difficult it will be to
upgrade all of our digital photos into the new format.

But, hey! It'll be the perfect excuse for all of us the check those CDs and DVDs and make sure they still work, right?

Right?.....
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Related articles:
Does Microsoft's new format spell the end of JPEG?

Free report on storage environment (your tax dollars at work)

2007-07-30T21:25:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of the NHPRC? That's the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. It is the only national U.S. agency dedicated solely to the preservation of historical records. No buildings. No farm implements. Just documents. NHPRC. (Pssst...they give grants.)

Back in the late 90s I worked for the Wisconsin affiliate, the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board. My work on the Best Practices Project was instrumental in how I approach archiving and the role of state historical societies.

So. What the heck is a Best Practices Project, you ask? It was pretty simple, actually. Earlier surveys of records holders in Wisconsin had revealed a basic unavoidable truth:

Pound for pound, more historical documents were being cared for by non-archivists than by archivists.

Our challenge was to get as much training as possible to as many "accidental archivists" as possible, with a cost as low as possible. But first we wanted to make sure the records keepers were the ones to choose the topic -- based on their immediate information needs.

We set up a task force for each of these groups:

public librarians
local historical societies
local governments (registers in probate)

Next, we asked each group to identify and rank their most critical information need with regard to caring for historical records. The result was three manuals of instruction, all of which you are welcome to download and share. After all, it's your tax dollars that made the project possible in the first place.

Click the titles below to download the free PDF files:
1. Creating a Collection Development Policy for Local Historical Records in Public Libraries (PDF, 123KB)
2. Creating a Collection Development Policy for Historical Records (PDF, 120KB)
3. Everything You Wanted to Know About Storage Environment, But Were Afraid to Ask (PDF, 260KB)

Learn more about the Wisconsin Historical Records Advisory Board here.

As promised in my last post, I'm including an excerpt from the storage environment manual, which was written for Wisconsin Registers in Probate. During our meetings, I heard about county boards pressuring clerks to scan and dump the historical records in their care. It reminded me a lot of the current situation in Tuscaloosa.

Below is my advice, written almost exactly 10 years ago.

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Appendix C: THE DIGITIZATION BANDWAGON

Digitization is Great for Access
At first glance, digitization and imaging look like a superior form of records storage.

Each copy is an exact clone of the original.
Availability of perfect copies keeps original from being overused.
Multiple users can access the same information simultaneously.
Records don't need as much storage space.
Retrieval is fast.
Advanced search techniques (such as keyword searches) can be used to find information.

Digitization is Not a Long-Term Storage Solution
Digitization is a great way to increase access to recorded information, but long term storage of
digital information requires diligence and active management. Storing digital information can also be very expensive.

Hardware and software become obsolete about every five years.
Digital information has to be stored on a physical medium such as disks or tapes. Even by the most generous estimates, these materials have a lifespan of less than 50 years.

The Case of the 1960 Census
The National Archives had a difficult time accessing parts of the 1960 Census. The records were stored on tapes that the Census Bureau could read only with a tape drive that was long obsolete.

“When the computer tapes containing the raw data from the 1960 federal
census came to the attention of NARS [the National Archives and Records
Service], there were only two machines in the world capable of reading
those tapes: one in Japan and the other already deposited in the
Smithsonian as a relic.”
(Committee on the Records of Government 1985:9, 86-87)

A (Mostly) Happy Ending...
By 1979, nearly all the requested data had been successfully copied onto industry-standard
tapes. (Of the original 1.5 million, 10,000 records were not successfully recovered).

Cost of Digitization
Before you assume that scanning will save you money, remember the following costs:

Upgrading the hardware, software and operating system(s).
Conversion costs for transferring data to the new program / system.
Technical support.
Continuous training.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

What has changed since 1997?
Lots more digital records, for one thing. Unfortunately, we still don't have a perfect solution for how to preserve digital records in the long term -- but the digital train has definitely left the station. Just think about how many records are born digital these days.

So, tell me...Do you think my advice is still valid a million* years later?

*That's internet years, by the way.
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Why "scan n' dump" is a terrible idea

2007-07-30T07:37:00.000-05:00

There's controversy brewing in Tuscaloosa.

(Never thought I'd open a blog entry with that sentence, but life is full of surprises, ennit?)

I read on Dear MYRTLE's blog about plans in Tuscaloosa to scan historic ledgers and dump the originals. Myrt linked to an article in the University of Alabama student paper, where I read this snippet (Bobo is Circuit Clerk Magaria Bobo):

“We’ll scan them on a disk, and at that point we’ll destroy them," Bobo said. “They’ll be in better shape to read after being scanned because the paper they’re on now is so delicate because it’s so old."

Oh, dear.

Read the DatelineAlabama article here.
Read Myrtle's post here.

First of all, let's give the clerks of court credit for operating the best they can under difficult circumstances. These folks have a legal mandate to preserve records, but little financial support to carry out their responsibilities.

I know how mightily they sometimes have to struggle. Back in 1997, I worked with a group of Wisconsin Registers in Probate who were extremely dedicated to records preservation even though they had to fight for every dime. (More on that project -- including an excerpt from the manual I created -- in the next post).

Is scan n' dump ever OK?
For government records, the answer is no...at least not yet. Not until we solve the problem of long term digital preservation. And not until local government officials are given a decent budget and the right equipment to check data regularly and migrate records every 3-5 years as the software changes. Digitization is great for increased access, but it doesn't save you money in the long run.

In Tuscaloosa, for example, the clerk is forced to keep crumbling historic ledgers in a hot "moldy" attic. If her budget can't provide a single decent storage room, where is the money going to come from to handle electronic records?

For family snapshots (especially the extra ones that will never make it into an album) I say go for it. Just be sure to offer the unwanted prints to family members before you toss anything. And remember to respect age and scarcity.

On the other hand... film n' dump can be a safe choice.
Black and white (silver) microfilm is expected to last hundreds and hundreds of years. If you choose to film n' dump, be sure to conduct rigorous quality checks of the film. I've heard nightmare stories about sloppy filming projects.

Next up: Advice on digitization that I wrote back in 1997. For better or worse, it's still mostly valid.
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Recycle unwanted CDs and DVDs!

2007-07-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

CDs are cheap and plentiful, which is great for sharing digital files and making extra backup copies. But it also means there are (literally) tons of junk CDs lying around.

Instead of adding them to a landfill, why not get crafty and recycle them instead?

In addition to funky sculptures like the one you see to the left, you can create many delightful artifacts from your junk CDs:

Coasters
Disco ball
Hovercraft
Lamp
Candle stand
Window valance
Postcards
Memory books

For more information, visit my new favorite DIY site, Curbly.com:

Top 10 Creative Ways to Recycle CDs

Readers of The Practical Archivist might also enjoy Curbly's detailed instructions on how to create faux antique paper: How to Antique Paper.

The secret is using a cup of coffee plus instant coffee crystals (see Curbly's photo, right) then baking out the water in a very slow oven. I wonder if you could print a photograph on regular paper and give it this treatment? Neat-o!

[Photo credit: Me. The sculpture's in my neighbor's garden. Tip of the hat to The Consumerist for the crafty link.]

New Feature: Quick Link Roundup

2007-07-21T22:02:00.000-05:00

Introducing a brand new feature here on the Practical Archivist blog:

The Link Roundup.

There's plenty of interesting stuff out there on the intertubes. For this new feature, I will find 'em, rope 'em and serve 'em up to you with little or no commentary. Quick n' dirty. Ready? Here we go...

READ:

* Randy Seaver over at Genea Musings gives a wonderful real-world example of an often overlooked fact: Everything is NOT online. Read Randy's Manuscript Collections post for details.

*Family Tree Magazine has a helpful thread about how to persuade relatives to share photos and other documents. Personally, I find it sad that people can be so stingy with family treasures...especially when copies are so easy to make.

VIEW:

* Trunks full of family history are discovered in the walls of a house during renovation. Read the happy reunion story and watch the heartwarming video here.

* And, last but not least, a aural-ocular video treat for my steampunk friends: Thomas Edison Hates Cats.

Got a quick link you'd like to share?
Use the comments section below.

© Photographer: Dennis Cox | Agency: Dreamstime.com
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Raise your Google IQ: My favorite Google trick!

2007-07-18T07:13:00.000-05:00

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Before I give away my all-time favorite research trick, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to new readers who discovered this blog via Family Tree Magazine. Not only was I featured in Fern Glazer's wonderfully written article about preserving your family treasures, the Practical Archivist blog was named one of the 4 best blogs for family historians. An honor, indeed!

This Google trick is simple, but a little conceptual. So let's take a step back...

When you use the phrase search box or place quotation marks around a set of words, Google searchers for that exact string of words. (For my earlier article about the benefits of phrase searching, click here.)

Many folks type their question in the search box. The problem is that the articles you are looking for will have the answer but not the question. It's possible you will find a FAQ page or two, but most of the answers are written as regular sentences.

Solution = Type in the answer you are looking for, not your question.

Here's an example from my days as Image Research Coordinator for American Girl:

We needed to add some color to a spread in Welcome to Kit's World, a lavishly illustrated history of life in America during the Great Depression of the 1930s. There was plenty of black and white photography available, but certainly no color photography. My solution was to find a modern color photograph of a vintage 1930s dress...ideally a Ginger Rogers gown. But in order to track that down, I needed to know when Ms. Rogers died.

Here is what I typed into Google (remember, the quotation marks are important)

"Ginger Rogers died on"

What happened? The exact information I wanted came back as the top 5 or 6 results. Multiple sources with the same date was a strong argument for the accuracy of that date. My point here is that searching "when did Ginger Rogers die?" would not have returned these results.

In summary, to find what you are looking for, search for the ideal sentence that will answer your question, not the question itself. Happy hunting!

Other articles you might enjoy:

Raise your Google IQ in two easy keystrokes
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Dating British Photographs

2007-07-16T21:32:00.000-05:00

Reader Andrew Millard left a helpful tip in the comments section about a web site for dating British photographs:: http://www.cartes.freeuk.com/time/date.htm

Andrew says: "It has a wide range of dated photographs that you can compare to your own undated ones."

Thanks, Andrew!
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Learning how to date old photographs

2007-07-13T22:31:00.000-05:00

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Last month, Randy over at Genea-Musings found this wonderful photographic treasure in his Aunt Geraldine's papers. He asked for input from readers to help date this pair of cased photographs. Randy's post contains some great resources to help you date old photographs, so be sure to stop by. It's nice to have resources pooled together like that. Thanks, Randy!

Dating old photographs is a very effective way to help identify who is in the photo. If you can narrow it down to a decade and you know your family tree, it's much easier to figure out who is pictured in an unmarked photograph.

Here are two great books that will help you date your photographic treasures.

Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs
by Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective

As far as I'm concerned, Maureen Taylor is the Supreme Maven of Photo Dating. Lucky for us, she shares her expertise in easy to understand books written with genealogists in mind. This updated version of one of her classics is a must-have for every family archivist.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Every single rating on Amazon.com is 5 out of 5. Here's the first review, click here to read them all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A beautiful and useful book, January 5, 2001

By	Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews

Purchase these recommended books from Amazon.com:

[Photo Credit: Randy Seaver, Genea-Musings blog]
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Other articles you might enjoy:
5 tips for preserving your one-of-a-kind family photographs
Where should I store my family photographs?
What to keep? What to toss?
Flash drives are NOT for long term storage
Why do archivists wear white gloves?

Hipster Librarians and Hero Archivists

2007-07-13T07:42:00.000-05:00

Hipster Librarians

Many, many people sent me a link to the New York Times article about hipster librarians. Even my mom sent me a link! Libraryland is in a bit of an uproar about it, especially the cracks about shushing.

Here's my take:

It was in the Style section. The NYT Style section doesn't care what librarians do all day. What they want is to showcase real people in funky clothes. I know plenty of hipsters with library degrees and you know what? They all have a FABULOUS sense of style that is uniquely their own. So huzzah to them, I say.

Here's my favorite part of the article: Librarians recruit at bars. Well, duh. Here's what a bartender said during an American Library Association conference: "I love the librarians! They drink like fish, tip well, and never cause trouble like the shriners."

As for recruiting, we know a librarian/archivist when we meet one. I've said before that entering library school felt like coming home. There are lots of things we have in common, incuding a very serious dedication to public service. Which leads me to my next bit of news...

Hero Archivists

What does an archivist do? Well, lots of us preserve government documents and serve them up to the public. It's fundamental to open government and participatory democracy. We do not take this responsibility lightly.

Over at hangingtogether.org, Jim pointed to a Maureen Dowd column that calls archivists "the new heroes" in DC. The column was titled A Vice President Without Borders, Bordering on Lunacy. Here's the clip Jim shared, complete with (regrettable) nerdlinger stereotype:

“I love that Cheney was able to bully Colin Powell, Pentagon generals and George Tenet when drumming up his fake case for war, but when he tried to push around the little guys, the National Archive data collectors — I’m visualizing dedicated “We the People” wonky types with glasses and pocket protectors — they pushed back.

Archivists are the new macho heroes of Washington.”

Dude. It's always the quiet ones you have to worry about. I thought everybody knew that.

TV is Dead. Long Live Internet TV!

My neighborhood has a wonderful 4th of July parade. This year, we were filmed for a wonderful new website called storybridge.tv. Are you sick and tired of the "if-it-bleeds-it-leads" kind of coverage you get on local news? Me too. So were Katy Sai and Jeff Olsen, who left their network jobs to create a beautiful alternative.

See our parade (including a brief interview with yours truly) at this link:
http://storybridge.tv/chronicles/012
(Run time = 4 minutes)

Practical Archivist as a Simpsons Character

No, I'm not going to be on the Simpsons, sadly. I made my avatar online last week and just had to show it off. To understand how excited I am about my new avatar, you have to know what a super ultra mega Simpsons fan I am.

I started reading Life in Hell by Matt Groening ("rhymes with complaining") back in the 80s -- thanks to Madison's weekly The Isthmus.

I watched the Tracy Ullman show in part to see his cartoons that were the transitions between the show and the commercials.

My husband and I have watched The Simpsons together since it debuted. Back then it was our Sunday date night. These days, we watch with our kids.

I quote The Simpsons the way Miss Marple talks about the people of St. Mary Mead. Allegorically.

So, yeah. Crazed superfan would not be an overstatement. I'm a wee bit excited about the movie. Envious? Make your own Simpsons avatar here.

[Thanks, neatorama. You rock.]

File names for your digital photographs

2007-07-09T07:07:00.000-05:00

Should we keep the computer generated file names or come up with our own?

There are advantages to the machine generated name:

They easily sort in order of creation
There are no repeated file names
You don't have to think about it, it's already done. ^-^

Remember, the file name itself is not the only place to put information about the photo. If you want scads of information about your photographs at your fingertips, your best bet is to create a simple database in FileMaker Pro or Access.

You can create fields for information like who owns the original*, when it was taken, the names of everyone in the photo, the condition of the original, whether the digital file is the "unmolested digital master" or a copy that you restored digitally. One of the fields would be "file name." Since you will search the database to find what you're looking for, it doesn't matter if the file name is something vague like xqp02064.tiff.

*(Genealogists, for example, often have digital copies of ancestral photos sent to them by distant cousins.)

Regardless of what kind of name you choose, it's a good idea to write the file name on the back of all scanned photographs. Use a soft No. 1 pencil. If the print won't take a pencil mark, you can slip it in a sleeve and write on the sleeve. Or you can mark it with an archival permanent marker on an edge that has only background information. (That ink might bleed through eventually, so don't write over people's faces.) My local camera company adds the file name on the back automatically when I print my digitals. I love that feature.

Generating Your Own Names: The 8.3 Rule
To ensure that your files have maximum portability, you need to follow the 8.3 rule. That means you have 8 spaces to describe your new digital photograph, plus the 3 spaces after the dot for the file type. It's difficult to jam identifying information using this constricted format. I've tried, as you can see from this excerpt from my "8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photographs" booklet:

I recommend starting with a date code. That way, sorting by file name will automatically sort chronologically at the same time. I use a 3 number date code with “1” for 1900s and “2” for 2000 and beyond. After that, a family name code, or even an individual code if you have already creating this kind of indexing system. The last 3 spaces are for a brief description. GP for a group portrait, for example.

A 1919 photograph of the McConnell family would get a file name like this: 119MCCgp.tif

And a 2006 photograph of the Jacobs family would get a file name like this: 206JACgp.tif

Is the 8.3 rule still necessary?
Maybe not. I asked Paul Hedges, Director of IT for the Wisconsin Historical Society, and he told me he uses longer file names for his family history documents. Here's his summary of the situation:

"8.3 and 31 and 255 are supported across all the major operating systems. 8.3 is probably the safest, but lacks the flexibility to provide useful names. In the end, pick a standard, stick with it, and you'll be OK."

For more information about file naming protocols, Paul suggested the following articles at wikipedia:

8.3 Filenames
Long Filename
ISO 9660
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© Photographer: Cristian Nitu | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Musical curio cabinet of obsolete technology

2007-07-08T18:22:00.001-05:00

Got about 3 minutes to spare? Check out this crazy cool video from seb martel. It's chock full of beautiful anachronisms. There's even a steel guitar (be still my heart).

P.S. Can anyone out there translate the French for me?

New accelerated aging test for DVDs

2007-07-05T07:38:00.000-05:00

Folks, I know I promised the next post would be about naming your digital files so you can find them later, but I just got word of an important* new test standard for DVDs.

[*Originally, I used the word "exciting" to describe the test. Then I realized I'm probably the only one to actually get excited about it. On the other hand, it is objectively important.]

The Optical Disc Archival Test Standard allows you, the consumer to judge the long-term stability of any given DVD brand. As I've mentioned over and over and over and over -- the term "archival" is unregulated and therefore meaningless. Passing an accelerated aging test, while not a perfect predictor of how long media will last, is the best tool we have to decide which product to buy.

Standard ECMA-379
Test Method for the Estimation of the Archival Lifetime of Optical Media

This Ecma Standard specifies an accelerated aging test method for estimating the life expectancy for the retrievability of information stored on recordable or rewritable optical disks.

Please note: This test does not cover every possible source of damage -- only the effects of temperature and humidity. However, it's better than what we've got right now (which is basically bupkiss).

It does not attempt to model degradation due to complex failure mechanism kinetics, nor does it test for exposure to light, corrosive gases, contaminants, handling, and variations in playback subsystems. Disks exposed to these additional sources of stress or higher levels of T and RH are expected to experience shorter usable lifetimes.

Want more details?
Press release here.
Full technical details here.

Practical tips for scanning photographs safely

2007-07-02T07:08:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some tips to keep your original photographs and documents safe while you scan them:

Absolutely no food or drinks on the work surface. If you need to have water handy, please please please keep it on the floor at your feet. One spill and your irreplaceable treasures can be ruined forever. There is no "undo" button for this kind of error.

Cover your work-in-progress. This is important if you are going to leave your project out on a table for any length of time. Use opened folders or a large piece of cardboard. It will prevent damage caused by knocking, blowing, and dropping of who-knows-what.

Wear gloves. It’s the simplest way to keep oils and salts from your fingers away from photographs. You might not see today’s fingerprints yet…but they will acidify over time and show up as a stain. If gloves are a problem, be sure to wash your hands before working, and skip the hand lotion. If you get up to answer the phone or any other task, remember to wash your hands again before you sit down to work.

Support fragile and large prints very carefully. That includes on the way to the scanner as well as while you are scanning. Use two hands to pick up and move items to prevent bending and possible breaking. If the item is truly oversized, enlist the help of a friend. Very fragile items and tightly bound volumes can be digitized using a digital camera rather than a scanner. Avoid squashing.

[I searched in vain for Do-It-Yourself instructions on how to create a preservation-friendly book cradle or support for oversize items. Can anyone out there help? Please email me or leave a comment below.]

Never use an automatic feeder for photographs. They are OK for research notes and other modern office papers, but dragging a print across glass is a sure-fire way to scratch the emulsion. And don’t even get me started on misfeeds and jams. Ouch! I feel slightly nauseous just thinking about an heirloom print getting caught in one of those.

Which brings up a subtle but important tip: If your preview scan shows that the image is crooked, be sure and pick up the photograph to reposition it. Scooching it over can drag the emulsion across the glass and scratch it.

Next up: Tips for naming your digital files so you can find your new digital photographs.

Obsolete technology as objets d'art

2007-06-28T07:01:00.000-05:00

Motherboard Gifts and More sells beautiful things made out of dead technology.

I'm partial to the coasters myself.

The business card cases are pretty cool, too.
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Why not bring a portable scanner when you visit family this summer?

2007-06-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

Are you heading out to visit family in the next few weeks? Maybe you have a big reunion scheduled this summer.

Here's something to consider:

Portable Scanners Are Very Affordable. If you have a laptop and $80 in your family history budget, you could purchase a brand new portable scanner and bring it with you. Just imagine returning from your trip with digital copies of one-of-a-kind, antique family photographs, letters and documents. You know, the treasures that no one will EVER allow out of the house.

Scan and Share. You can use the scanning time to collect family stories. Or write down important information on the backs of the originals if no one has done it yet. And thanks to the wonders of our Instant Digital Age, you can burn a set onto a CD and hand it to the family member who owns the originals. Regular CDs are fine as long as it's only for short term storage. For long term storage, I recommend MAM-A Gold CDs or an external hard drive. It's great to upload an extra set to the online storage company of your choice, but don't rely on them to store your photographs indefinitely.

My Portable Scanner Recommendation: I've had a CanoScan LiDE for years and I love, love, love it. I've been meaning to blather about it here for weeks. Here are some of its great features:

Lightweight enough to carry around.
The box it came in has a carrying handle so no need to buy a separate case.
Powered by USB cord, no separate power cord needed.
The platen locks to prevent damage while in transit (I'm sure all portable scanners do this, but I was impressed).
Lid removes completely, allowing for scanning of bound volumes and oversize materials without squashing.
Great quality high resolution scans for under $100.

I'm not alone in my love for the LiDE. Becky over at kinexxions is singing the praises of her new Canon LiDE 70. Her post was my inspiration to dust mine off and get it uploaded.

Stay Tuned: Later this week I'll share tips on how to name your digital files so you can find them again, how to scan originals without damaging them, and how to safely mark the originals so they don't end up as orphan photos in the attic.

CD player from a bygone era

2007-06-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure whether this counts as steampunk or not, but any way you slice it, that's a beautiful anachronism.

And, yes -- it actually plays CDs. The speakers are in the trumpet.

By bringing back a familiar nostalgic form of a phonograph, the design seeks transport the user back to the golden age of phonographs in early 1900s where sound broadcasting had a magical feel.

More info about this hack can be found here.

[Link via Neatorama]

A correction about digmypics

2007-06-24T12:10:00.000-05:00

Loyal readers, I need to make a correction. I got this email last week:

Hi Sally,

I found your blog. It’s great, but it makes a comment that my company sends our customer’s photos overseas. While its true that some companies do that, we aren’t one of them. We do all of the work right here in mesa, AZ. Would you mind making the correction?

Thanks,
Scott Crossen
www.digmypics.com

I said I would be happy to print a correction, and asked Scott my Big Question: How do you keep prices under 50 cents per scan?

Here is Scott's reply: We've invented and developed a lot of software processes to maximize our productivity on things like CD burning and tracking and managing orders but the fact remains we do a lot of work for the 30 to 50 cents we collect on each image. We don't believe that asking a customer to allow us to send their photos overseas is an option and our customers agree with us on that. The risk just doesn't justify any reward. I understand that having a service scan all of your photos can get pricey, but having them sent to China or India? It might make good business sense but lacks good common sense. If you like, you can put a link to our video that shows the process and a link to our home page.

Done and done, Scott.

The video took a really long time to download, but I waited it out because I'm not going to publish a link to something I haven't watched. YouTube would have been much less annoying.

Update: Scott provided me with a link to the streaming version of the video. That way, you don't have to download the whole thing to your computer. Watch the streaming version here.

I was impressed by their system for preventing photo orders from getting swapped accidentally, but not as impressed as I was by the white gloves. Yay! I also vowed to get myself a lab coat if I ever make my own videos.
Personally, I'm too squeamish to send original items through the mail -- even if it's only going as far as Arizona. If you're cool with it (and most people are, including my own dad) then digmypics seems like a fine choice.

Have you hired someone to scan your photographs? Would you recommend them to a friend? Leave a comment and share your experiences, good or bad.

Another "oops" time capsule story, this time it's personal

2007-06-21T22:29:00.000-05:00

Tulsa's buried car isn't the only time capsule ruined by leaking water and mud. When I was a eight years old, my hometown decided to bury a time capsule. It was 1976 -- the U.S.'s bicentennial -- and everyone had History Fever!

The opening of the time capsule was scheduled for July 4, 2000, which might as well have been a million years away as far as I was concerned. I found it impossible to imagine being 32 years old when I was only eight.

It just so happens that my dad was president of the Glencoe Historical Society in 1976, so I got to write a Letter to the Future. My best friend Kate Hackbarth got to write one, too. My letter wasn't terribly profound (I was eight, remember?) basically a list of places in my hometown that meant a lot to me. I remember going through the ads in the village circular to make sure I didn't miss anything. My Letter to the Future was a list of all the places I wanted to still be around in the Exciting Jet Pack Age! that was sure to be The Year 2000.

The list included:

1. Wally King's record shop
2. U-Name It iron-on t-shirt emporium
3. Wienicke's hardware/toy store
4. Harry's Jewish Deli
5. Big Al's (where the fries were made from scratch)

There are two punchlines to this story.

Punchline #1. By the year 2000 every single one of those beloved places was gone. Some of them long gone. Nearly all of them had been replaced by chain stores like Starbucks and Einstein Bros. The hardware store had been converted to fancy schmancy condos.

I lived in my hometown from 1972 to 1986. During those years, there wasn't much you couldn't buy in town including a car, a bicycle, or an airplane ticket. In addition to the shops on my list we had a grocery store, a butcher, a baker, a shoe store, a movie theater, a dentist, an optician, a pizza joint, Chinese takeaway, and two of the following; pharmacy, deli, hair salon, bank. It was a kid's paradise.

On the drive down, I said to my husband: "You know, archivists don't do time capsules. It's a terrible idea to bury something if you want it to last 30 years. There might not be anything to see when we get there."

Which leads us to punchline #2...

Punchline #2. The time capsule was destroyed by water and mud. They put the soggy little bits on display, but it was a little painful to see. Especially since I was really looking forward to reading that letter again.

On the up side, I visited my hometown for the first time since my parents sold the house ten years prior. I got to see Kate Hackbarth and we got to meet each other's husbands. And since it was the Fourth of July, I got to visit the craft fair where I sold painted rocks with googly eyes, and see the parade with floats and scouts and tons of kids on decorated bikes. Plus a slice of pizza at Little Red Hen. At least some things stayed the same.

P.S. My classmate Rich Cohen grew up to become a great writer. His memoir of growing up in our hometown is called Lake Effect. I know who all the characters are, but my lips are sealed.
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Archivists don't do time capsules. Here's why...

2007-06-21T07:10:00.000-05:00

One of the most basic rules of preservation is this:

If you want something to last fifty years or more, do NOT store it underground.*

Why oh why do otherwise rational humans insist on burying their treasures?

What you see in the amazing photo above is the most common kind of damage you get when you bury something: water damage. That 1957 Plymouth sure was purty. I suppose it has a different kind of beauty now.

Unlike most time capsules, this one consisted very few items: The 1957 Plymouth, a bottle of tranquilizers, an unpaid parking ticket, several combs and a few bobby pins. Curious about why these items were chosen? Read more about Tulsa's buried car time capsule here.

*Underground = Bad. That includes your basement, by the way. But wait! There is an exception to the "no bury" rule, and that's salt mines. Even so, this kind of move is safest in the hands of professionals.

Photo by Michael Bates.

You can gawk at more hauntingly beautiful photos of Tulsa's Buried Car in Michael's Flickr photostream.

What to keep? What to toss?

2007-06-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting article in the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel called: "What to Keep, What to Throw Away? Think Carefully About What’s Really Important Before You Make a Decision."

Read it soon while it's still free:

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17374145.htm

Here's an excerpt from author Cindy Larson:

Like many other baby boomers, I suspect, my house is overflowing with boxes of papers, photos and mementos from my parents, who are both deceased. Add to that the stuff I’ve saved from my own marriage and children, and the result is an unorganized mess of boxes in our spare room.

I didn’t have a clue as to what to keep and what to pitch. What was truly a memento, and what was just clutter? What would be valuable or meaningful to my children and possibly, some day, their children?

Here are my comments on the article...

Purging. There is no magic formula for deciding what to keep. At least not one that works for everyone. You have to make some hard decisions, it's true. But making no decisions at all and keeping everything instead is just delaying the problem. Please don't leave the mess for your kids. The bigger the mess, the more tempted future generations will be to just toss it all.

The News-Sentinel article described an interesting sorting system just for sentimental items. Harriet Schechter advises clients to create 4 piles: Happy/Sad/Good/Bad. Seems like it could be super helpful. If you've used this method, please let me know by leaving a comment. Good or bad, I wanna hear it.

Preservation. As for the archival advice, it's not too bad. The article emphasizes the importance of stable temperature and humidity for long term survival of paper memorabilia. That's dead accurate. It also says that paper storage containers are better than plastic, which doesn't "breathe." I agree with that advice. Plus you have no idea how safe that plastic is, unless it's passed the Photographic Activity Test or PAT. But...

Boxes. I would add that the type of box you choose is important. Don't forget the sniff test -- if it stinks, don't put anything valuable in it. Unfortunately, that rules out most of the pretty looking shoebox-style boxes. Between the paper and the glue used to adhere it, you're looking at some awfully scary chemicals. Your best bet is to stick with an archival supplier like Metal Edge or Gaylord or Light Impressions. Thos metal edges are not just for strength -- they also make it possible to construct the box without using any adhesives.

Email. The article claims that letters are slowly being replaced by e-mail, and you should "consider saving at least some of your newsier e-mails." I would argue that this shift occurred years ago. And let's not forget that digital is more permanent than a sand painting, but not much else. The easiest solution is to just print out your most important correspondence. Not everything, of course. Then you end up with the same problem of too much paper.

Best advice in the article. I'm all for purging, but remember that there might be someone in your family who wants what you're about to toss. The older the stuff, the more important this becomes. Family historians are often the family archivist as well, so why not call up the genealogists in your family?

Related posts from The Practical Archivist:

Photo Organizing Tips: What to Keep?

[Double tip of the hat to Randy at GeneaMusings and Meagan at RootsTV]

Treasure trove of historical photographs of African-Americans

2007-06-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

The Randolph Linsly Simpson Collection presents a vivid picture of black life and American racial attitudes from the 1850s to the 1940s. It includes about 2,500 items, chiefly historical photographs, along with slave ship manifests, military medals, and civic trophies, postcards, stereo views of daily life in the old South, and more.

Highlights of the collection include vintage albumen photographs of Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. DuBois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, along with nineteenth century daguerreotypes of politicians and bankers, photos of cowboys and entertainers, emancipated slave children and carnival freaks. Formal studio portraits and family snapshots, post-mortem images, scenes on the factory floor and images of African-American men in military service.

Selected images from the collection are available in the Beinecke Library's Digital Library Online: Simpson Collection Images. I was delighted to see that they have included multiple images for each photograph. That means we get to see the lovely cases, too.

Photo Credit: Two young men with straw hats, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Flash drives are NOT for long term storage

2007-06-09T22:09:00.000-05:00

A while back, I took a first stab at answering a reader's question about flash drives. He wanted to know if they were safe for long term storage. Here's what I said (cue time machine music):

--------------------------------

I got an email from a new subscriber to my newsletter. He was asking me to update my free-with-subscription bonus e-book about how to safely scan family photos. He wanted me to include the option of storing digital photographs on USB flash drives.

Will I make that change? That depends on the answer to some important questions:

How long can we expect USB-powered flash drives to last?
How soon will they become obsolete?
How do these numbers compare to CDs? To hard drives?

Do I have an answer?

Nope. Not yet.

--------------------------------

By way of answer, below is an unedited post from 24/7 Family History Circle, a wonderful Web 2.0 resource from Ancestry.com.

Flash Drive Caveat

I’m an IT director. When we hand out flash drives (which we hand out like candy), we have a little “talk” that goes with them. It goes like this:

“Flash drives are very handy for carrying files from place to place and computer to computer. However, they are relatively volatile storage, so you should never consider them a primary backup for your files. They fail much, much, much more quickly than CDs or hard drives.”

Back up your files on CDs or hard drives. Check them after you back up to make sure the backup works. Check them once in a while to make sure they are still working. Every few years, transfer them to a new CD or hard drive. How many years depends on the conditions in which they are stored. If you have air conditioning, low humidity, and clean air, they will probably last longer than they will in a more humid or dusty environment.
Rae Williams

Wise words from the field. Flash drives are a convenient way to carry files around with you, but they are not for long term storage. Thanks, Rae!

Source: 24/7 Family History Circle
http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=1480

Another hidden mom photo, this one a tintype

2007-06-08T17:46:00.000-05:00

Fussy babies are nothing new. Photographers have always had tricks to calm the wee ones so they can be immortalized via photography.

Keep in mind that earlier photographic processes had much longer exposure times. In other words, they required a lot more stillness to avoid a blurry photo.

Last month, I showed you a slightly spooky photo where mom was cleverly disguised as a chair.

I'm happy to report that Swapatorium has a new vintage portrait to share with the world.

This time, mom is crouching behind and holding the child around the waist. You can see her behind the chair.

To hide her arm, the photographer hand painted a blue sash directly to the tintype.

Read a little more about this intriguing image at Swapatorium, a great source for online treasures.

Bargain! Stay in Madison for less than $16 per night

2007-06-07T21:20:00.000-05:00

If you're a genealogist, I highly recommend a research trip to the Wisconsin Historical Society. And since I live in Madison, I know a great lodging deal that's below everybody's radar. It's our all-ages hostel.

Madison Hostel
141 S. Butler St.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 441-0144
http://www.madisonhostel.org/

Madison's most affordable accommodations in a cozy, turn-of-the-century house
A great downtown location-only two blocks from the Capitol Square, State Street, and Monona Terrace. Eight blocks from the Wisconsin Historical Society, on the lovely UW-Madison campus (a quick bus ride from the square).
Private rooms are $47 per night and sleep 2-3 people, reservations by telephone only. [Whoa! You and two friends share a room in downtown Madison for less than $16 each per night. You can't beat that price unless you crash on someone's foldout couch.]
Dorm beds are $23 dollars per night, and you can reserve these online.
Do you like to save money by preparing your own meals? The Madison Hostel has a kitchen with stove, microwave, refrigerator, plus cooking and eating utensils.
Common room with a library, television, VCR, and internet kiosk.
Laundry facilities.
Free linens and towels.
An information center stocked with brochures for local museums, parks, and other sites and events.
Knowledgeable staff who can share what's happening in Madison during your visit.
Volunteer hosts who can take you to Madison's museums, festivals, restaurants, and bars.

People of all ages are welcome at the HI-Madison Hostel.

Help spread the word!

Click on the green envelope (below) to tell a friend.
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A fun way to share family history with kids

2007-06-06T21:21:00.000-05:00

Ben, my youngest, turned four last month. One of his birthday presents was the book you see above. (Thanks, cousin Jacob!) I am not exaggerating when I say that Flotsam blew me away.

This jaw-droppingly beautiful book doesn't have a single word of narrative text. Yet it spins an unforgettable tale of undersea cities with Martians in bubble helmets and clockwork steampunk wind-up fish. Then there's the kids who discover this fantastic world via a camera that pops in and out of the ocean again and again. You can see the camera reflected in the fish's eye if you look carefully at the cover.

For copyright reasons I don't feel comfortable scanning and uploading more images of the book. But trust me...it's gorgeous from cover to cover. It won the coveted Caldecott award, so you know this is quality material.

My favorite part is the photo-of-a-photo-of-a-photo. The protagonist just happens to have a magnifying glass handy, so he can see back to the very first photo taken with the mysterious camera. BTW, I know this isn't possible with the resolution of regular Earth cameras. So please don't email me to tell me that, OK? There was a time when I thought it was do-able, but that was before I learned how to develop my own b/w film. Also, did I mention the wind-up fish? Martians? Yeah. Flotsam takes place in the realm of fantasy, pure and simple.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I think everyone under the age of fifteen should have a look at it. This is the kind of book that rings an inner bell for future historians. Maybe even a photo archivist or two, you never know.

If you're a genealogist with grandkids, use this book to talk about the passage of time and family members who came before. Describe what the photo-within-a-photo would look like if every picture was his or her ancestor. Talk about everyday history like what great-great grandma would have worn at the seashore. Share your favorite memories of the beach, too.

And remember, the story is told without any narrative text. That means a four year old like Ben can read the story to you. Four year olds love this, trust me. Especially when they have a big sister who learned how to read in Kindergarten this past year.

Flotsam would make a great Father's Day gift.
Use this link to read more about Flotsam at Amazon.com.
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Oops! (to the tune of $12 million)

2007-06-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

After reading the following shocker in Dick Eastman's email newsletter, I'm tempted to ask:

Does anyone out there know of a complex digital archiving system that has actually improved access to government information?

Anyone?

Anyone at all?

GRO Chaos: Local Registrars are told to Abandon Computer System

The (London) Times newspaper has reported that hundreds of register offices across the United Kingdom have been ordered to abandon a new online system for recording births, deaths, and marriages in the latest IT fiasco to hit the government. The Times reports that the huge IT project has met with “complete system failure,” and online registration has been suspended in half of the 3,000 offices.

Despite previous assurances that the system would be able to cope with the demand, it appears that the £6 million (roughly $12 million US) computer system has failed miserably. The situation is reminiscent of the problems faced by the National Archives with the 1901 census.

The new system had been phased in over a period of months. When the last offices were added in March, the new system almost ground to a halt. Officers said that its performance was so slow that it was unusable. When IT staff tried to sort it out, they found it could not reliably save data.

You can read more about this fiasco on the Times web site http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1739313.ece

Subscribe to Dick Eastman's free newsletter here.
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Tintype Parlor = Faux Vintage Fun

2007-06-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

Holy beautiful anachronism, Batman! I just learned you can buy a kit and make your own tintype photographs. It's called "Tintype Parlor" and here's the description:

An authentic re-creation of the tintype process, a type of "instant" photography that was popular in your great-grandparent's day. These are authentic dry-plate tintypes, also known as ferrotypes, like those found in antique shops-- not modern imitations. Plates are thin enough to cut with scissors to fit inside any camera. The kit contains everything you need to make tintypes (called ambrotypes if coated on glass.)
"Tintype Parlor" contains 5 metal plates size 4x5 inches plus emulsion, tintype reversal developer and fixer........ $30.00
Rockland Colloid, Inc.

Let's make a pact to create faux vintage tintypes. We'll confound future generations with 2007 tintypes of iPods, 8-tracks and steampunk computers. C'mon, it'll make a great bit on Antiques Roadshow someday.

For definitions of tintypes and ambrotypes, choose a source: SAA Glossary; Wikipedia; Antiques Roadshow.
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Restoring a damaged photograph, digitally

2007-05-30T18:21:00.000-05:00

When I was in library school in the mid 1990s, the Internet was just taking off. There was some content online, but very few graphics and zero advertisements. I spent a lot of time gawking at Young Ones scripts using the Mosaic browser. It seemed miraculous at the time, even though nothing looked as fancy as it does now.

[To give you an idea of how things looked back then, here's a link to Yahoo in 1996 -- with thanks to the Wayback Machine for archiving it.]

Around this same time, library card catalogs were being converted whole hog into keyword searchable OPACs (Online Public Access Catalog). Some people were freaking out. I mean, well and truly losing it.

In response, the more pro-digital students created a term for anyone who resisted the coming digital tide:

Book hugger.

It was meant as a serious insult, which frankly seems odd for a library school, doncha think?

Anyhoo... If you've been reading this blog for a while, you're familiar with my dire warnings about the fragility of digital records. Pay heed to these warnings, my friend. You would be crushed if your favorite photographs disappeared in the blink of an eye. So print your favorites and back up the rest on a regular basis. Right? Of course right!

Note: If you haven't read my dire warnings before, you can find them all by clicking on the word "digital" in the left hand column. Or you can subscribe to my newsletter and get a free e-booklet titled "8 Blunders People Make When They Scan Photos...And How You Can Avoid Them." That link is also in the left hand column.

Here's the bottom line: All of us -- archivists and non-archivists alike -- need to learn a new set of skills for preserving digital photographs long term. But that doesn't mean we should avoid digitization.

Why fight powerful tools like Photoshop Elements... something you can pick up for less than 100 bucks, fer cryin' out loud. These tools help you restore a damaged photograph without having to spend years training as a conservator. And as far as I'm concerned, this fact alone justifies the extra preservation effort.

If you've got some time on your hands (I won't lie to you, there is a steep learning curve for the more complicated moves) and you'd like to learn how restore your pictures yourself, you won't find a better resource than RetouchPro. The forum and tutorials are free, but paid subscriptions are available if you'd like to chip in.

If you're not interested in learning new software but you have a treasured family photograph that needs restoration, I can help. Clicking this link will create an email with the subject already filled in, all you have to do is click send. (I saved you a few steps with my HTML skillz, dawg!) In moments, you'll get an automatic reply with our current price list for restoration and scanning work.
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Can bare hands dissolve metal?

2007-05-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

Here's a question I get all the time:

What's with the white gloves, anyway?

Ah, yes. The white gloves. Sort of the archivist's trademark.

My favorite story about why archivists and conservators wear gloves is a George Eastman tale that may or may not be true. I can't verify its authenticity, but I've remembered it for more than eleven years. I figure it it's that sticky, you'll probably remember it without really trying.

This story is about George Eastman, the genius behind Kodak,* and the time period is somewhere between 1880 and 1930.

Mr. Eastman insisted that every prospective new employee put his or her hand on a sheet of metal as part of the interview process. After that, he would wait a week to see how much the acids in their hand ate into the metal. Too much, and they didn't get a job at Kodak. Their hands were simply too hazardous.

My second favorite story about why archivists wear gloves is 100% verifiable. It comes to me from Nicolette Bromberg (the same person, coincidentally, who told me the Eastman story). Nicolette heard this one first hand from the source:

At the Image Permanence Institute in Rochester (that's
the place James Reilly does testing on photographic
materials), there is a research scientist named
Doug Nishimura. I remember that the first time I
took the week long seminar on photo preservation at
Eastman House, Doug talked about how toxic his own
chemistry was--his skin eats up watches, etc. He said
he has to wear rubber gloves and then the cotton
gloves. I thought it was pretty interesting that he
ended up in a field where he handles photographs all
the time!

Here's why you should remember these stories:

The oils and salts on your hands contain chemicals that can damage photographs. You don't know if your hands are super toxic or safe as kittens. If you don't want to cause any damage to your photos, don't touch them with your bare hands. Evah.

Cotton gloves offer a barrier of protection. They are inexpensive and easy to purchase online, so there's really no excuse. Except I know from talking to family archivists and scrapbookers that some folks just can't stand wearing gloves.

What if I just can't wear gloves? These are your photographs, and therefore it's your call. I've said many times before that you do not have to preserve every photo for hundreds of years.

Also, you are not alone. I've never seen a scrapbooker wearing gloves. And now some researchers are arguing that the loss of feeling you get while wearing gloves is more dangerous to fragile rare books than the acids the gloves are holding back. I would argue that this is NOT the case with modern photographic prints, but again....it's your call.

In any case, if you can't work with gloves on or think it's unnecessary, here are a few practical tips to minimize damage:

Handle your prints by the edges only.
Wash your hands with soap and skip the lotion.
If you get up to take a break (answer the phone, eat lunch, etc.) wash you hands again before you go back to your photo project.

What about those sprays and lotions that are supposed to get rid of the acids in your hands? Yeah, I've heard about these. My one word review? Feh! Washing with soap and water is just as effective and much, much cheaper.

One last tip: Cotton gloves (like these from Amazon) can be gently washed with a mild soap and hung to dry. Skip the fabric softener, please. The thinner the gloves, the fewer times you can wash and reuse before you pop a seam.

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*Did you know that Eastman invented the name Kodak? Here's a brief passage from his Wikipedia entry:

He and his mother devised the name Kodak with an anagram set. He said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it must be short, you can not mispronounce it, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but Kodak.

Rotary Dial Modem (?)

2007-05-16T22:34:00.000-05:00

Great googly-moogly...a rotary dial modem!

Can you imagine? Would a rotary phone still work if you plugged one in today? Someone told me it would, but I'm skeptical for some reason. Help me out if you know, readers.

I learned about the retro comic from Wil Wheaton, who stumbled onto it while doing research for his Geek in Review column.

I came across one of the most awesomely demented things you will ever see in your life: a comic book, handed out by Radio Shack in the 80s called Whiz Kids. It was essentially an advertisement for their Tandy computers...

Awesomely demented. How can that not make you smile? Classic Wil. You won't want to miss painful Whiz Kids dialog like:

Hey - do you think you can show us how color scripsit works, Shanna?

Read more here.

[Link via WWdN, a blog I visit just about daily.]

Avoiding the Chemical Sandwich of Doom...Plus 4 More Tips from The Practical Archivist

2007-05-10T06:08:00.001-05:00

5 tips for preserving your one-of-a-kind family photographs.

1. You can't keep it all. I get surprised looks when I share this truth with my workshop participants. I realize it's the opposite of what most people expect an archivist to say. But archivists know better than perhaps anyone else that you can't possibly keep everything. Don't be afraid to lose the dreck. Your grandkids are not going to want every single one of your vacation slides. On the other hand, they would probably love to have a small set of photos of you having fun on vacation. You're not doing future generations any favors by leaving the editing up to them.

2. If it's worth keeping, it's worth treating right. Cycling temperatures and humidity levels are bad for paper and film. Avoid basements, attics and garages at all cost. Instead, store your treasures in the interior closet of a house that has some form of climate control. And by climate control I mean a space that has basic heat and air conditioning. Avoid UV light, which causes fading. Place photos in high quality envelopes, sleeves and albums. How can you know if it's safe? Unfortunately, you can't rely on terms like "archival" and "photo safe" because they are unregulated and therefore meaningless. Fortunately, there is an objective, 3rd party test called the Photographic Activity Test (or PAT). Use only PAT-Passed enclosures for the photographs you want to last tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

P.S. Don't Forget: Your entire collection does not need to survive 200+ years (see #1, above). Which means you don't have to give all of it the Cadillac treatment. Invest only in the images that mean the most to you. And by invest I mean invest real money in high quality enclosures, and invest time to write the stories behind your photographs.

3. The shortest pencil is better than the longest memory. They say a photograph is worth a thousand words, but look in your own family photo collection and you'll find plenty of photographs with little to say. Stiff, uncomfortable looking ancestors whose names have been lost to time. We archivists have a term for these mystery pictures: Orphans.

Don't let your photos become orphans! Write down information about your photographs before you forget. Write it down for your children's children's children because you may never have a chance to meet them face to face. Write down the stories behind your photographs, the ones that naturally pour out when you sit down with an album and start swapping tales. If you're not sure how to get started, I highly recommend Denis Ledoux's Photo Scribe method. It's a simple technique that uses your photo collection as a starting point.

4. Digital is more fragile than you think. Magnetic media (floppy disks and digital tape) begin to fail in 5 to 10 years. The most generous estimates give them about 30 years. Optically etched media (burned with a laser like a cd-rom or dvd), begin to degrade within 5 to 15 years. And that's not counting scratches. In the word of digital, there is no equivalent of shoving your photos in a shoebox and stashing them in a closet. No, sir. If you want to bring your digital photos with you into the future, you will have to migrate them to new storage devices every 3-5 years. You'll also have to save them in the newest version of the software that turns the 1's and 0's into your vacation snapshots. Quick solution? Scan your prints and print your digitals. Print out any image that you can't stand to lose. Upload it to your favorite photo processing store. Make lots of copies of your favorite digitals and spread them around.

5. Rescue your photos from the Chemical Sandwich of Doom. Those sticky magnetic photo albums that used to be so popular are just about the worst place you can put a photograph. Acidic cardboard covered in stripes of acidic glue on the back, smothered in a vinyl sheet that is so chemically volatile it stinks. Oy. Fortunately, this is one of the few hands-on conservation projects that's easy enough for non-experts to tackle successfully. The key ingredient is a microspatula, which you can find in various archival catalogs and dental supply stores. If you're nervous about using it, I created a kit that includes photo-illustrated instructions and a pair of cotton gloves. You can learn more about my $25 Photo Rescue Kit here.

Got other preservation questions?
Try the Preservation Answer Machine.

Related Articles:
Tips for Tackling Your Large Family Photo Project
Deciding What To Keep
Photo Organizing Tips: Set Realistic Goals
Photo Organizing Tips: Finding Expert Advice
Photo Organizing Tips: Presentation is the Icing
How Many Words Is a Photo REALLY Worth?
Have You Been Protecting the Wrong Side of Your CDs?

Thanks to ProBlogger's group writing project for the inspirado.

Photo credit: That's my Grandma Anne and her sister Mabel. It's actually a pin.

The cassette is dead...long live the cassette!

2007-05-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

I have a big goofy sentimental attachment to cassette tapes. My personal archive has at least a half dozen mixtapes and original recordings that I can't bear to part with. Our house also has a drawer full of random cassettes that no one ever plays. Evah. Now that we can hook up the ipod to the car stereo why on earth would we pack a briefcase full of tapes?

Even so. As impractical and fragile as they are, I'm having a hard time accepting the inevitable: The cassette tape is dead. -->wince<-- The UK's largest electronics retailer announced this week that they will no longer stock blank tapes. They also predicted that Christmas 2007 will be the last time they sell stereos with a cassette deck.
Full article over at The Telegraph.

On the upside, the freaks n' geeks are doing supercool things with the tape that's still lying around. Things like the 2007 Cassette Jockey World Championships at the Bay Area Maker Faire.

The organizers promise:

eviscerated boomboxes, disembodied tape heads, and overclocked Walkmans

Suh-weet!

Bay Area Maker Faire: May 19-20, 2007, San Mateo Fairgrounds.

The Faire also includes: The Crucible • Swap-O-Rama-Rama • SwapThing • Bazaar Bizarre • Cyclecide • Combat Robotsv • Power Tool Drag Racing • Exploratorium • Live Music and Performances • Shipyard • Flaming Lotus Girls • Life-Sized Mousetrap • TechShop • Neverwas Haul • Silicon Death Valley • MAKE Play Day • ArtCar Fest

http://makerfaire.com

Update 5.24.07: I'm not generally a fan of so-called installation art. It's a category that covers a lot of ground, and not all of it quality soil if ya know what I mean. But this? This is so cool I don't even have a word for it in my vocabulary. [Link via neural. Caught by my "obsolete technology" googlebot.]

Does your automatic backup system actually, you know -- work?

2007-05-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

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Time publishes a magazine called Business 2.0. Circulation: 557,093. Perhaps you've heard of it. By all accounts, this fine publication has done a great job warning their readers about how dangerous it is not to back up their computer files. According to Slashdot, they made the following analogy between backups and flossing back in 2003:

"Everyone knows it's important,
but few devote enough thought or energy to it."

Those words have officially come back to haunt them. Just imagine the horror when they realized that the entire June issue was gone due to a computer system crash. Backup, you ask? Oh they had a backup system. No problemo. This is, after all, Business 2.0 we're talking about here.

Unfortunately, the automated "don't worry about it" backup system failed to back up. As in, completely failed. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for automated backups, but please test yours occasionally. Or at least one time. To make sure it works and all.

For those of you who really, really need a happy ending, this is for you. Here in the United States, we live in an INSANELY litigious society. In the corporate world, everything has to get the lawyers' OK. Everything. And in this instance, fear of litigation saved the day (or the June issue of Business 2.0, anyway). Every word of the final text had been sent to the lawyers. Phew! The layouts had to be created again from scratch, of course, but it could have been so. much. worse.

P.S. I really enjoy these Digital Oops! stories. This one is my current favorite. If you've got one to share, why not post it in the comments section.

[link via slashdot]

What if grandma had a blog?

2007-05-02T22:25:00.000-05:00

So the other day I googled one of my favorite phrases: beautiful anachronism.

That led me to a blog called eclexys.

And, no...I don't know what eclexys means. And, yes...I looked it up. [Update: Here is the author's explanation.]

Anyhoo...

More specifically, I landed on a post about how great it would be to find your grandma's blog. Can you imagine?

But personally, I would have loved to read my grandparents’ blogs, seen their photostreams, watched their videoblogs one by one. Beautiful anachronism, and wonderful to experience people whose genes you share, who live in another time that, in some ways, feels more like another place.

Yes indeed. The past is a foreign country, as I like to say.

The author also reflects on how cool it would be for just one of his descendants to find his eclexys posts. Assuming, that is, that they aren't destroyed by bitrot first. Bitrot is my new favorite digital term, by the way. Hooray for eclexys!

Read the entire eclexys post here.

P.S. I spent all day today in a workshop about digitizing analog sound recordings. As a bonus, I got to see some library school buddies of mine, including David Seubert of the incredible wax cylinder digitization project. I've got lots of tips to share with you from the workshops, but a major review might not happen until the weekend. While you're waiting, why not visit David's project website and download some free MP3s? You'll be glad you did.

More permanent than a sand painting, but not much else

2007-04-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

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Variety has an interesting article about how to preserve movies that were captured digitally. The news is not so good.

Sony's Vice President of asset management and film restoration says Sony's archiving program includes migrating every two to three years. Great idea, but keep in mind that the amount of data to be migrated is growing constantly. There's no way Sony's gonna keep doubling their IT staff to meet that growing need. The article argues that it will all be outsourced soon. Elektrofilm is mentioned, but when I visited the website I didn't see anything about digital preservation beyond DVDs.

Bottom line: The old school method of "store and ignore" simply doesn't work with digital.

Scary statistic: 40% of backup tapes have frames missing or corrupted after being stored for as little as 9 months.

My favorite ironic solution: Transforming digital intermediates into three-color separation negatives. Ya heard me! Someone got a grant to study how to turn digital originals into "good old-fashioned film."

Read the entire Variety article on digital film preservation here.

Link via slashdot.

First real computer bug (har dee har har)

2007-04-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

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When I get nifty geeky email, I like to pass it along:

Dear Sally

I enjoy your blog. This appeared on another list,
and seemed right up your street.

Andrew Millard

A real thrill for the computer historian; see the very first computer
"bug" preserved as a museum specimen.
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Did you know about this digital printing feature?

2007-04-18T21:52:00.000-05:00

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I had no idea this was possible, but Lee left a comment on the digital printing thread that Shutterfly offers the option of printing an inscription on the back of your photos. It's called backprinting.

Holy cow is that brilliant. Just imagine NEVER writing on another photo again. Ever! And you don't even have to feel guilty about not writing because, you know, the labeling is already done.

Anyone out there know how much this costs or if any other printers offer this service?
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How to find a conservator in your area

2007-04-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

Here is THE directory of experts in the conservation of photographs, paintings, manuscripts, books, textiles, artifacts, and electronic media of all kinds -- including albums, tapes, video and film.

Searchable by location and/or specialty.

Neat-o.

AIC FORM FOR SELECTING A CONSERVATOR
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Tackling a large family photo project

2007-04-17T21:44:00.000-05:00

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Thanks to Trevira for leaving a comment about her favorite online photo printer. I hope others will join her and Amanda and Barbara. Had a terrible experience? Love your printer? It's not too late to leave your comment.

Oh, and, Trevira? I think it's all kinds of cool that this blog has been your inspirado. Here is my promise to you and anyone else who is tackling a Really Big Photo Project:

You can do this.
Seriously, you can.

Here are a few tips to keep you on track:

(1) Your entire collection does not need to survive 200+ years. That means you don't have to give all of it the Cadillac treatment. Invest only in the shots that mean the most to you. And by invest I mean invest real money in high quality enclosures, and invest time to write the stories behind your photographs.

(2) Lose the dreck. Don't be afraid to edit. You're not doing future generations any favors by leaving the editing up to them.

(3) Big projects are scary. Just remember: "Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps."

(4) Break your project into chunks (see #3) but keep in mind that the smaller the chunks, the longer it will take to complete your project. Rope off a half day every and you'll see real progress. And real progress is the BEST motivator.

(5) The more fun you have doing it, the more often you will work on your project. Crank your favorite music while you work. Or take advantage of the buddy system and schedule a monthly photo date with a friend who lives in town but who you don't see often enough. Or host a brunch and call it a photo bee. Whatever works.
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P.S. For those of you who are patiently waiting for a recording of my Photo Savers / Story Keepers workshop, I'm happy to report that all the permissions have been cleared. It shouldn't be long now, really. I just need to learn a new software program. Ahem. What was that bit about baby steps?

Get those snapshots off your computer and into your life

2007-04-14T13:43:00.000-05:00

RealSimple's tip of the day is How to Organize Your Digital Photos.

The article discusses ways to upload and share images via online digital albums. There are, of course, many more options than the ones suggested in this piece.

Print your digitals. Hands-down the single easiest thing you can do to extend the life of your photos. It's so cheap these days that there's really no excuse not to. And unlike the days of film, you don't have to pay for the bad shots. Such a deal.

Where should you send your digitals to be printed? The same place you used to send your film. If your trusted local photo shop is long gone, you'll have to pick a mail order service. I've never used the mail order ones, so I don't have much to say about it.

Got an online digital provider that you love? Share your great find by posting a link in the comments section, below.
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Shhh...can you hear what your photos are saying?

2007-04-12T22:15:00.001-05:00

Keep me.
Protect me.
Share me.

Sorry to be such a tool for Kodak, but some of you are going to love it as much as I do. They turn the schmaltz up to eleven* for this one. Excellent photo montage mixing classic historic photos with "this could be your life" snapshots. The kids, of course, are killer cute. If you're a sentimental fool like me, better have a hanky ready before they get to the part with the gentleman in the bow tie.

I think the sentiment is spot-on: "Keep me. Protect me. Share me."

I agree except, um, just between you and me? They aren't *all* keepers.

Lose the dreck.

The good news is you'll know the absolute keepers when you see them because they make you feel the way this commercial is trying to make you feel. Except it will be your real life and not some Madison Avenue fantasy.

*I stole this phrase from another Kodak video on youtube. This one was created for in-house only (there is some mild swearing that would never make it onto tv). Hy-larious stuff including: "Turn down your mini-disc and power up your Newton!"

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Link via Scoble.

A (very) old trick to handle a fussy baby

2007-04-12T20:21:00.000-05:00

Imagine it's 1886. Everyone wants a portrait of the baby, who just won't sit still for the camera long enough. Look very closely at this photo and you'll see a clever trick to calm a fretful baby: Disguise the mother as a chair

Here's what the owner of this image says:

I have a small collection of photos of mothers disguised as chairs. John recently found this tintype at an estate sale for a $1 which is a great example.

Related articles:
Another hidden mom photo, this one a tintype

Photo Credit: Swapatorium

Link via Boing Boing, the folks responsible for my new obsession with all things steampunk. Curse you Cory Doctorow! And I'm looking in your direction, too, William Pene du Bois.

Unclutterer and overseas scanning mills

2007-04-09T21:53:00.000-05:00

Not long before I left with my kids for a Spring Break trip to Florida, bekee sent me an email about the cool new Unclutterer blog.

More specifically, she pointed me to a recent entry about purging photo collections called "Photo Processing (with a Garbage Bag)."

Overall, I thought the author made some great points, although I have a few quibbles.

...that no longer surprises you, does it?

First of all, a big thumbs up to this sentiment:

Get rid of all the horrendous shots and end up with a box or folder of “keepers.”

Yes, yes, yes!!

All photos are not created equal. Here's an article I wrote to help non-archivist decide what is and what isn't a "keeper."

Unclutterer also recommends slip-in photo albums, which is my personal favorite because they are so simple and easy. I especially love the ones with room to write a quick caption.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find a single one that has passed the Photographic Activity Test, or PAT. Not sure what the PAT is? Click here to learn more about what the PAT is and why it's important if you want your photos to survive tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

In addition, Pioneer never bothered to answer my repeated phone calls and emails about whether or not they have had any of their products tested. Grrr. Light Impressions sells plenty of items that have passed the test, but their Imperial Slip In album either failed the test or was never tested in the first place.

So all I'm left with is slip in pages with 3 hole punches from PrintFile, plus (non-vinyl!) 3 ring binders. A very safe option, but not the most attractive. On the upside, this is an inexpensive choice.

But wait.
There's more.

This is the part of Unclutterers' entry that freaked me out the most:

If you want to go all the way and really minimize, skip the physical albums altogether and go straight to digital. There are a number of services out there like DigMyPics.com that will scan your negatives or prints and return them to you on a CD-ROM or DVD. Then you can trash all your old physical media. Don’t feel guilty about it. Any time you want a print you can just make one.

Holy guacamole, I hardly know where to start...

Everyone knows that digital photos take up less space, but the plain truth is that they will not last as long as prints or negatives. I'll say that again: PHOTO PRINTS WILL OUTLAST DIGITAL COPIES. For an eloquent explanation of this reality, I highly recommend Stewart Brand's essay "Written on the Wind." It's not too long and basically jargon-free.

FYI, if you save your digital pics as JPEG files you'll lose information each time you make a change and re-save. Changes like eliminating red eye or cropping or adding a caption.

Some scanning mills (but not DigMyPics.com --> see my full correction here) send your photos overseas for scanning, usually China or India. Why? Because Americans don't want to pay more that 10 cents per scan, that's why. But why on earth would you risk losing all your photos by allowing them to be shipped so far away? That's madness in my opinion.

Bottom line? Digitization is a great way to create a backup copy of your most cherished photos. It's also an inexpensive and fun way to share your photographs with others. But please for the love of all that is good, DO NOT TOSS YOUR ORIGINALS AFTER SCANNING! (This also holds true for home movies on film, fyi.)

Unclutterer bravely conquers other types of organization, too, and there are some real gems. Here's some utterly practical advice for anyone with an Imelda Marcos-style shoe habit:

Photograph each of your pairs of shoes, print the photos on your ink jet color printer, and then tape the photo to the outside of the appropriate shoe box.

Brilliant!

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Photo Credit: Alicia, via Unclutterer
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Their possible future

2007-03-31T21:10:00.000-05:00

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Remember how I was complaining just a few minutes ago about links that download PDFs automatically? Well, I just started reading one of them and it's great. Yeah, life can be funny that way.

Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Information
by Jeff Rothenberg
Revision: February 22, 1999
Click here to download the PDF.

Here's his great opener:

The year is 2045, and my grandchildren (as yet unborn) are exploring the attic of my house (as yet unbought). They find a letter dated 1995 and a CD-ROM (compact disk). The letter claims that the disk contains a document that provides the key to obtaining my fortune (as yet unearned).

My grandchildren are understandably excited, but they have never seen a CD before—except in old movies—and even if they can somehow find a suitable disk drive, how will they run the software necessary to interpret the information on the disk? How can they read my obsolete digital document?

Later on in the article he points out how important the letter is in this scenario. It's crucial because it identifies the disk as something of value. Without the letter (on paper, of course) there's no way someone is going to go to heroic lengths to read the data. Trust me on this one.

As a footnote, I was delighted to learn that Jeff is responsible for one of my favorite soundbytes about digital preservation:

Digital information lasts forever—or five years, whichever comes first.

SaveMyMemories.org

2007-03-31T20:05:00.000-05:00

SaveMyMemories.org has a handy-dandy crash course on preserving digital photos. The "quickstart" overview promises: "Protect your photos with these 4 easy steps!"

My quick review: Marvelous tips, worth a read.

Here's a sample from the hardware overview:

If you get a new computer, check all of your previous storage media to make sure the new computer can read them before you dispose of your old computer.

If a medium is becoming harder to find in the stores, make sure you transfer your photos to a newer medium. Most likely, you'll be able to use a program like Windows Explorer or a backup program to make the transfer. If you use a backup program, make sure that it stores your files in a format that can read by other programs such as Windows Explorer. Some backup programs store files in a format that can be read only by that program.

They also have a trade-off table which is all kinds of fabulous. Wish I had thought of it, actually. Bookmark this one for sure, and pass it along to your friends. One caveat, though...I noticed that two formats got to duck the longevity question. Every other format includes an estimate of how many years it will last. Except CDs and DVDs. Instead, it says: Use 'archival or photo grade quality' only.

Huh? As I've explained before, terms like "archival" and "photo grade quality" are unregulated and therefore completely meaningless. How come these formats didn't have to cough up an estimate in years? Hmm. Made me wonder who/what I3A is. So I visited the about page and wouldn'tcha know it -- Kodak is a major sponsor. Kodak manufactures CDs and DVDs, yes? Just askin'...

I was going to recommend that you bookmark the Additional Resources list, but after a closer look I've decided against it. First of all, they are guilty of one of my pet peeves: Links that start a file download that aren't labeled as "pdf" or "doc" downloads. I prefer to know ahead of time if it's not a link to another website.

Secondly, what the heck is going on with this blanket disclaimer?

Please note that the websites listed here are intended as additional references for your use. They can be a good starting point for further exploration. Nevertheless, I3A does not necessarily endorse any of the contents of these sites, and we are aware that material on any one website may stand in apparent contradiction to material on other sites. Industry knowledge about long-term photo preservation is evolving, so it's important to keep your own knowledge up to date.

Listen, if they've actually read them and can't endorse them then I'm certainly not going to send you there. On the other hand, I appreciate their honesty regarding the likelihood of future updates to the list. Ahem. Skip this part, or take whatever you find with a grain of salt. And remember, you can always do a fact check using the Preservation Answer Machine.

Overall, a great resource...despite all my snarky comments.

A tip of the hat to Family Matters "Tech Support for the Family Historian." Great blog, check it out.
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Mighty purty typewriter

2007-03-24T22:40:00.000-05:00

The Wisconsin Historical Society is celebrating the first mass produced typewriter. There's a wonderful five-minute read on their website. It also includes links to more information.

Highlights include:

Bigger, juicier photos. This beautiful antique makes my iPod look cold, lifeless and dead. And I lurrrve my iPod.

It wasn't the inventor who licensed the technology rights to Remington Co...it was his business partner. Seems the inventor was a little short on cash in the 1870s and sold away his rights. Ouch.

One of the first things Mark Twain ever typed, which includes the following: "...only practici?ng ti get the hang of the thing." I kid you not.

Read it here.

P.S. I am now dreaming of a Victorian steampunk computer. Someone's already transformed a 1924 Underwood No. 5 typewriter into a computer, so I figure it's possible.

Photo Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society

Digital preservation news

2007-03-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

Did someone declare this digital preservation month? Because if they did, I sure didn't get the meemo.

Here's a roundup of the news from digital preservation land.

File Under "Oops"

So you accidentally wipe out the database. Oh, and the backup drive, too.

There was still hope, until the department discovered its third line of defense, backup tapes, were unreadable.

What did they do? Brought back the seasonal workers and re-scanned all 300 boxes of hard copies. To the tune of $200,000.

Is That Just Some Game? No, It's a Cultural Artifact. (Free registration required)

You know how every year the National Film Preservation Board publishes a list of films to be added to the National Film Registry? Well, now they're doing the same thing with video games. Cool, no? We can't save them all, but we might as well choose a few to preserve.

Mr. Lowood said that preserving video games presented certain challenges. For example the hardware that games are played on changes so frequently that there are already thousands that can only be played through computer programs called emulators, which, while readily available on the Internet, technically violate copyright laws.

A formula for blink free photos.

2007-03-20T21:34:00.000-05:00

Anyone who's played photographer at family functions knows that, even if everyone stays perfectly still, there's always someone who blinks.

Here's an article explaining how many shots you need to take in order to (almost) guarantee you get one where no-one is blinking. Fortunately, someone has devised a formula:

The probability of one person not blinking 1 - xt. For two people it's (1 - xt).(1 - xt) and for a group of people it's (1 - xt)n, n being the number of people. This means (1 - xt)n is also the probability of a good photo. Therefore, the number of photos should be 1/(1 - xt)n.

Ahem. Right-o. Click here for the magic number.

Link via Photojojo.
(An unbelievably cool collection of photo projects)
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Penny postcard views, organized by state - county - town

2007-03-14T20:31:00.000-05:00

Today I got a link to a cool online collection of Penny Postcards from my brother Steve. Thanks, Steve-O!

Click on the state and then on the county to see old
penny postcards from that area.....pretty neat.

I love this beautiful image of the Wisconsin Historical Society building. If you've traveled to Madison to dip into our world-renowned genealogical research collections, you'll recognize the building right away. The library mall looks very different these days.

FYI, last summer, my baby brother became a dad. Here are two pics of my chubby yummy nephew Charles Orrie. Isn't he adorable? I mean, you know, objectively cute. Not just because I'm his auntie. Oh, and you should hear him giggle. Deelish!