"How To" Guides > Organizing Images
Organizing Photo and Document Collections
Cataloguing and Indexing Photos and Documents
The primary importance of cataloguing and cross referencing collections is to provide a means of easy access to images of interest as a need arises.
Although a professionally staffed archive may have a very elaborate catalogue methodology, anything that helps you find an image, or category of image, will be helpful. Clearly, the larger the collection, the more important this becomes.
Photos and documents were all produced and saved for a reason, typically as a record of an event, transaction, or to capture a memory. The key elements describing the photo or document most often boil down to some or all of the following:
○ Who is present in the image or who created it?
○ What is in the image or for what purpose was it made?
○ Where is the location in the image or where was it made?
○ When was the image created?
○ Why was the image created?
The complexity and size of an image collection will largely dictate the need for detail and the complexity of the catalogue. There are many labeling and cataloguing approaches, and only you can decide on how much detail you need.
If you are organizing family photos, it may be enough to simply store them by decades. If the collection is more complex and/or you have digitized your collection, you may need more detail, including as much detail as possible about the who, what, where, when, and why.
A master catalogue of categories and storage locations can be useful to a family (for example, album #1, album #2, originals, CDs, etc.). In the case of a community historical society, with preservation efforts led by volunteers, future continuity suggests a greater need for a master index/catalogue of the collection(s). This takes time. However, with modern spreadsheet software, such an index has become a lot easier to establish and maintain.
If you have moved in the direction of a digital
image library, using image management software such as
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
Tips / Hints: With a properly catalogued and searchable digital image library, many image sharing projects can be accomplished by easily finding and accessing the digital image. This will often help extend the useful life of the original by saving wear and tear. Therefore, an easily identifiable cross reference between originals and backups will allow quick access to backups for specific needs to avoid handling originals.
To be most useful a simple master inventory / catalogue should include:
□ Logical Categories or Groupings - This may be as simple as type of image (postcards, photos, letters). If the collection is complex, sub-categories may be appropriate (examples: postcards by era, photos by decade, letters by decades or authors).
□ The physical location of originals (examples: box #2 second drawer, 2nd floor museum annex, guest room closet, etc.).
□ The form and location of backups (examples: CD#3 - 600PPI Jpeg files in safety deposit box, DVD#2 held by Society President, etc.).
