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Collection Development Policy

 

 

 

I.  Introduction

 

Mission

The Nassau County Photo Archives Center increases public knowledge of, and access to, the Nassau County Collection of historic photographs, glass plate and film negatives, and postcards.  We seek to preserve unique Long Island history through the digitization of our entire collection.  Our mission is to offer improved access to our digitized collections for education, publication and exhibit opportunities through the preservation of Long Island history.  Our website is a reflection of our goals to extend outreach and services to our users.  Its purpose is to highlight the roots of Long Island tradition, culture and lifestyle through photographs taken by local photographers of the 20th century.

 

 

II.  Community Profile

 

Service Community Briefly Described

The Nassau County Photo Archives Center is located at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, NY (11804).  We strive to extend our services beyond local consumers of information via the creation and use of the digital library project website.  Our goal is to serve a borderless community accessible via the World Wide Web on a national and international scale. 

 

User Needs Defined

Collection users have the following information needs:  educational resources, scholarly and genealogical resources, exhibit resources, publication resources, and historic preservation resources. 

Specifically:

  • Independent learners of all ages who have specific information needs or are undertaking independent study

  • Students from junior high school through a graduate college level

  • Community organizations that wish to present historical information to other community members

  • Authors of local history publications for mass distribution

 

 

III. Collection Development Policy

 

Purpose of the CD Policy

The Collection Development Policy supports the mission of the Nassau County Photo Archives Center and provides direction and guidance digitization.  It is the goal of the Center to identify, through a structured selection process, the digital assets to be preserved over time that demonstrates an organizational commitment to digital preservation and access. 

 

Brief Description of the Collection

The entire analog collection at the Center consists of over 200,000 historic photographs, postcards, and glass plate and film negatives from Nassau, Suffolk, Kings and Queens Counties.  Our entire collection features images spanning the 20th century, between the years 1900 and 1980.  Currently, approximately 20,000 of over 200,000 photographs have been digitized.  Digitization is prioritized based on the selection criteria outlined in Section V. 

 

User Group Characteristics

Independent learners, students, researchers, authors and community organizations encompass those seeking a photographical evidence of Long Island history, including but not limited to:

  • Historical sites and landmarks

  • Local community history

  • Local business history

  • Architecture and landscape design

  • Historical events

  • Persons of historical significance

  • Postcard photographers/photography of the early 20th century

  • Long Island culture

 

 

IV. Official Action of Record

 

Collection Maintenance & Responsibilities

Maintenance of the analog and digitized collection is a collaborative effort.  The Digital Library Project must be maintained and periodically changed as deemed necessary according to the expression and understanding of user needs to the Center.  “All responsible officers—content creators, and disseminators with a custodial role for digital content identified for long-term preservation have a responsibility to actively contribute to the intent and priorities necessary to fulfill this policy.”1

 

How/When/By Whom the CD Policy is Reviewed/Updated

All staff members, excluding volunteers, at the Nassau County Photo Archives Center review the policy collaboratively.  At minimum, the policy should be reviewed annually and should be updated as seen fit demonstrating the organization’s commitment to digital preservation and access.

 

 

V. Selection Policy

 

Material Selection for Digitization

Through its collection, the Center strives to support user needs by providing access to the information available in photographic form.  The Center’s collection is developed and managed to meet the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of its users.  The digitization program is “designed to distribute its collection widely and bring them to the attention of scholars, students and [independent learners], enhanced with tools that will enable transformative uses of those materials” 2

 

Digitization Selection Criteria

The collection is digitized on a prioritized basis.  Images are scanned and saved as digital files according to what the Center deemed the most historically significant and useful, to the least.  Digital preservation is also largely based on selecting materials for “long-term access based on scholarly value and technical capabilities.”3 Selection of digital materials for the Digital Library Project is based significantly on content and the functionality of the digitized image.  Criteria considered for digitization are as follows:

  • Accessibility and use

    • Well defined users and uses of image

    • Past use of analog image

    • Strong connections to other similar collections

    • Value-enhanced features (metadata, search enhancements)

    • Increase overall use

  • Subject significance

    • Represent unique collection of the Center’s strengths

    • Supports area of long-term interest to users

    • Materials poorly represented in other digital collections/projects

  • Relation to use of other holdings

    • Original source materials

    • Project represents a completely digitized collection

    • Provides information, perspective, insight not currently well-documented elsewhere

    • No donor-imposed, copyright or other legal restrictions that would impede access

  • Intrinsic Value

  • Physical condition of the analog image

    • Digitization provides access to otherwise inaccessible fragile materials

    • Digitization does not put the original image at risk

  • Value of the end product

    • Cost of digitization levied by usefulness of resources

  • Potential to attract funding

    • Creates innovative opportunities to build relationships with other institutions4

 

Acquisitions Procedure

The Nassau County Photo Archives Center primarily acquires materials by donation or bequest.  There are no recorded instances in which a collection was purchased due to a limited budget, staff and resources.  There are recorded instances of collections being obtained by Nassau County Workers as a result of circumstance.  All circumstantial materials were either given or allowed to be taken freely by the County.

 

The Nassau County Photo Archives Center is committed to its partnership with Hofstra University to:  “advance the development of the digital preservation program, share lessons learned with other digital preservation programs, extend the breadth of our available expertise, and extend digital content that is available within an--information community”.5 The Center operates collaboratively with the Hofstra University Special Collections Department.  The Long Island Studies Institute is a “cooperative endeavor of Hofstra University and Nassau County as a major center for the study of Long Island local and regional history.”6  The Institute Collection, open to scholars, students, and the general public contains a wider variety of materials, including books, photographs, newspapers, maps, census records, genealogies, government documents, manuscripts, audiovisual materials and archival collections.

 

 

VI. De-Selection & Weeding

 

The purpose of digitization is to preserve access to fragile original materials that could not be used otherwise.  Digital materials at the Center are not weeded in the sense of an analog collection.  However, for the purpose of the Digital Library Project, which spotlights small portions of the entire collection, images available for viewing on the website will be de-selected for use periodically.  The time frame for which the sample images will remain the spotlight collection on the website is subjective, and determined collaboratively by the Archive Center Staff members on a case-by-case basis.  The staff will take into consideration suggestions from Center volunteers and user suggestions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  Rieger, Oya. 2004. 'Cornell University Library Digital Preservation Policy Framework'. Cornell University Library. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/11230.

 

2.  Dartmouth Library. 2014. 'Selection Policy For Digitization Projects'. Dartmouth.Edu. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/digital/about/policies/selection.html?mswitch-redir=classic.

 

3. Rieger, 2004.

 

4. Dartmouth Library, 2014.

 

5. Rieger, 2004.

 

6. Hofstra University. 2014. ‘Long Island Studies Institute’. http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/Library/libspc_lisi_collections.pdf.

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