Series N for Nikon: A case study of collaborative digitisation and description at the Alexander Turnbull Library

Wednesday November 21st, 11:00am-11:25am @ Angus - Breakout Room

Since February 2017 staff at the Alexander Turnbull Library have been collaborating with photographer Max Oettli on a project to digitise and describe over 10,000 images from his archive of 35mm negative film strips.

While in many ways this project was embedded in existing Library practices, it was also wonderfully unusual: Oettli himself joined the Library as the technician to scan material and capture descriptive information. Library staff provided technical and methodological guidance, metadata enhancement, and administered the wider curatorial, collection management, and digitisation ecosystem.

What did we learn from this distinctive model of collaborative digitisation and description?

Flora Feltham will discuss this project and its details: how we developed new procedures for bulk description and digital transfers, how we dealt with unexpected technical issues, and what we might have done differently if only we were clairvoyant. Most importantly, this presentation will unpack all the quick-thinking and creative troubleshooting – as well as the essential ad-hoc decisions – made by everyone involved: Max Oettli, the Digital Archivists, and the Photographic Archive Curator.

In the spirit of collaboration and transparency, this talk will also share Max Oettli’s own reflections on the process: what better way to discuss effective collaboration than to ask the people you join forces with.

Flora Feltham , Alexander Turnbull Library, Digital Archivist