Preserving USD history
I.D. Weeks Library archiving university photos By Katie Paulson Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 There are 600,000 photographs, slides and negatives piled in boxes in an abandoned study room in I.D. Weeks Library because there is no room left in their storage space. Images of Tom Brokaw, the Law School and the Burgess Hall dedication are among countless others in these boxes that document the history of USD from the 1870s through the 1990s.
However, there is a problem with many of the images. They are deteriorating into unrecognizable, brittle lumps. The 1949 track relay team featuring Dan Lennon is just one of many images suffering. Before the collection of photos was received in January of 2003 from University Relations and Marketing, it was housed in two basement rooms in Dakota Hall for over five years. They were under poor conditions at Dakota Hall, Gayla Koerting, special collections librarian, said. Luckily, we got this collection in the nick of time and were able to save many of the negatives.
The collection is being processed into nine series: alumni, athletics, buildings, departments, events, persons, student organizations, miscellaneous and non-campus and oversize. According to Koerting, they plan to archive all of the photos. We are desperately trying to save the collection of cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate negatives. The chemicals are a hazardous material. This causes the negatives to deteriorate very quickly. An industrial strength freezer will save them, Koerting said.
Sarah Hanson, the processor of the collection, said some of the negatives are already at the worst point. However, through freezing and packaging them properly, they can be saved. If they're frozen, they're going to be stable. We hope to get a freezer to stabilize them in the next two or three years, Hanson said. Hanson said cellulose negatives are a nationwide problem. Crediting the photos is also a problem. USD has hired several photographers over the years and they had their own filing system. Identification is difficult because of this. This will probably take seven to 10 years to do with the way that it stands now, Koerting said of processing the collection.
Originally, the IdEA program was going to have students do the processing of the images for their action component, 15 hours of community service. But, because of the health hazards of the cellulose negatives, IdEA students, instead, re-sleeve other negatives in acid-free folders. This preserves the negatives for future use. Koerting said the negatives have to be stabilized before the photos can be accessed digitally. The archival community thinks digitization is access; it's not preservation. First, the images must be saved. Once you scan an image into a different machine, some of it is lost. Over time, you have to go back and rescan the photo, she said.
Photography is one of those things that everybody loves and appreciates. I think people don't realize its importance, Hanson said. Future plans for the collection include making a book of photographs and marketing and selling the project. This is the entire photographic history of the university. It is a treasure trove, Koerting said. It's the richest photographic history of a university that I've ever seen. Reach reporter Katie Paulson at kpaulson@usd.edu
I.D. Weeks Library archiving university photos By Katie Paulson Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 There are 600,000 photographs, slides and negatives piled in boxes in an abandoned study room in I.D. Weeks Library because there is no room left in their storage space. Images of Tom Brokaw, the Law School and the Burgess Hall dedication are among countless others in these boxes that document the history of USD from the 1870s through the 1990s.
However, there is a problem with many of the images. They are deteriorating into unrecognizable, brittle lumps. The 1949 track relay team featuring Dan Lennon is just one of many images suffering. Before the collection of photos was received in January of 2003 from University Relations and Marketing, it was housed in two basement rooms in Dakota Hall for over five years. They were under poor conditions at Dakota Hall, Gayla Koerting, special collections librarian, said. Luckily, we got this collection in the nick of time and were able to save many of the negatives.
The collection is being processed into nine series: alumni, athletics, buildings, departments, events, persons, student organizations, miscellaneous and non-campus and oversize. According to Koerting, they plan to archive all of the photos. We are desperately trying to save the collection of cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate negatives. The chemicals are a hazardous material. This causes the negatives to deteriorate very quickly. An industrial strength freezer will save them, Koerting said.
Sarah Hanson, the processor of the collection, said some of the negatives are already at the worst point. However, through freezing and packaging them properly, they can be saved. If they're frozen, they're going to be stable. We hope to get a freezer to stabilize them in the next two or three years, Hanson said. Hanson said cellulose negatives are a nationwide problem. Crediting the photos is also a problem. USD has hired several photographers over the years and they had their own filing system. Identification is difficult because of this. This will probably take seven to 10 years to do with the way that it stands now, Koerting said of processing the collection.
Originally, the IdEA program was going to have students do the processing of the images for their action component, 15 hours of community service. But, because of the health hazards of the cellulose negatives, IdEA students, instead, re-sleeve other negatives in acid-free folders. This preserves the negatives for future use. Koerting said the negatives have to be stabilized before the photos can be accessed digitally. The archival community thinks digitization is access; it's not preservation. First, the images must be saved. Once you scan an image into a different machine, some of it is lost. Over time, you have to go back and rescan the photo, she said.
Photography is one of those things that everybody loves and appreciates. I think people don't realize its importance, Hanson said. Future plans for the collection include making a book of photographs and marketing and selling the project. This is the entire photographic history of the university. It is a treasure trove, Koerting said. It's the richest photographic history of a university that I've ever seen. Reach reporter Katie Paulson at kpaulson@usd.edu