- Agenda:
- Vanderbilt University Image Database – Special Collection Project
- Contini-Volterra Photographic Archive
- Members present: Nancy Boggess-Korekach, Marshall Breeding, Zora Breeding, Eileen Crawford, Teresa Gray, Mary Charles Lasater, Linda Tesar, Roberta Winjum. Absent: Pete Wilson, Annette Williams. Guests: Karin Sack, Kathy Smith, Paul Gherman.
Image Database:Teresa Gray and Kathy Smith Teresa and Kathy updated the committee on the VU photographic archive project. They.passed out the workforms that are used to record the metadata for each image added to the database. The workform is online and linked to the image. A print copy is also retained in a file. The images are primarily Vanderbilt people, sites, and events, but there are some taken by alumni, for example WWII photographs. Images are organized in subject areas. The steps are: 1. Photos are organized and sleeved; 2. assigned an ID (string begins with subject); 3. Henry scans the photograph; 4. Scanned image is added to the database and the online metadata record created; 5. Final review. Approximately 40 subject headings have been assigned with an effort to maintain consistency. Accessibility will be made available in stages. Currently, it is only available to Special Collections. Access for Creative Services, and the library will be added in the next stage. Eventually, the database will be available to the entire Vanderbilt community. 19,000 images have been scanned and the database will eventually hold 300,000 plus images. Future upgrades in the database will allow sorting by date.
Contini-Volterra Photographic Archive:Karin Sack Karin described this project funded by the Kress Foundation. Count Contini was an antiquarian art dealer who assembled this collection of photographs of Italian art, later owned and expanded by Volterra who worked for the Kress family. The 55,000 to 60,000 photographs were originally collected in a file as a reference for purchases of art works. Vanderbilt bought the collection in the 1960’s with money for the purchase donated by a D.C. alum. It was stored in the Art History building for 30 years and given to Special Collections when the Art Department needed the space. The Kress Foundation has provided $170,000 to begin a project to preserve the photos. Karin has created a metadata workform for the collection using language and terminology recognized by art historians and librarians. Karin has completed work on 8000 photographs (transferring photographs to archival folders and boxes and completing metadata sheets). Henry is scanning approximately 500 of these images a month, devoting all day Monday and part of Tuesday to the project.
- Next meeting October 2, 2006
- A second look at the Vanderbilt Image Database to view enhancements since last look. Continue discussion of the Contini-Volterra Photographic Archive to see if there is something that the Metadata Committee can do to contribute.