The Unique Challenges of a Photographic Collection Marc Boulay Photographic Archivist University of St Andrews North Street, looking West [St Andrews] Thomas Rodger, ca.1860

Presentation Overview About our collection What we do Challenges of a photographic collection Our aspirations and Emu A few photographs

1839 – Photography is invented British French

Photographic History & St Andrews 1840s – Photography comes to St Andrews W.H.F. Talbot Sir David Brewster David Brewster By Thomas Rodger, ca.1854

University of St Andrews Library Photographic Collection Collection takes shape in 1970s 700,000 original photographs 130,000 digital images 65,000 images online The Sphinx and Great Pyramid. Francis Frith, 1857

Collection Care and Access Special Collections Department Facilities, environmental conditions Staff responsibilities: –Research –Cataloguing –Preventative conservation –Supervision –Education & training Community resource for consultation, research, viewing Supporting academic research

Rights and Commercial Use Rights and permissions as primary income Existing workflows were slow Make technology work FOR us E-commerce Small staff.... dwindling resources ……….Time to invest!

Why Emu? Multiple databases needed centralising Streamlining workflow and infrastructure Increasing commercial potential Building on 15 years of research Required a DAMS solution

Access - Relationships - Knowledge Cultural heritage is not located IN objects… it results from the EXCHANGE OF IDEAS about them. –Access is crucial –If they don’t know it’s there, what’s the point? Knowledge is establishing relationships between different types of data and info ….This is why we’ve chosen EMu

Scott Monument, Edinburgh.1843 The Unique Challenges… Historically marginalised No established home Not museum objects Not written documents

Miss Margaret McCandlish. Salted paper print, McCulloch's Tomb, Greyfriars. Salted paper print,

Sir [Robert] Lambert Playfair. Albumen print, 1865 Unidentified Woman. Albumen print, ca. 1865

Scientific and botanical specimens ca. 1900s

Muybridge…..100 plates…Lost and found!

Photography would do for visual information what the printing press did for the written word

An Inherently Reproducible Medium

Our Hierarchy Using Catalogue Records

How Accession Lots Relate to Catalogue Records

Often Overlooked Key Access Points Multiple dates ….Capture date / Print date Multiple authors / creators / assoc. parties …photographer, printer, publisher, sitter / subject Distinguishing Format / Medium / Dimensions

RAF [Leuchars]. George Middlemass Cowie, September 1948

Digitisation and Cataloguing as a Tool …Not an End Access, dialogue, use and momentum are the objective. As such…. When considering “Quantity vs Quality --- …Quantity wins!” The perfect shouldn’t get in the way of the possible!

Motorcycle Races, St Andrews. George Middlemass Cowie, July 1936

To conclude… Please approach us if you’re interested in learning more about what we do Although still in the development stage, we look forward to joining the EMu community We’d be very interested in learning how others have dealt with photographs [Lake Como]. Bosetti, Bellagio, ca.1880

Thank You! Footway near Tay Bridge, Dundee. George Allan Little, ca.1969

Marc Boulay Photographic Archivist Jane Campbell Research Cataloguer and Database Administrator University of St Andrews Library Photographic Collection Pamela Cranston Photographic Research and Preservation Officer