Examining use in order to improve photographic archives

Archives are home to unique collections of photographs that are carefully preserved, arranged, and described. Recently, archives have made the digitization of thousands of these photos a priority that receives a considerable amount of time, attention, and resources. Studies have shown that the full potential of photographic archives is not being realized by users, despite the  opportunities that technology offers. 

Text vs. photo

"Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange (1936)

Photographic collections themselves, digital or physical, are historically more problematic for archivists than textual materials because the arrangement and description of photographs is not as standardized as the processing of textual materials. General archival practice suggests that any collection, despite its format, remains grouped together by its provenance, or creator, because this completeness provides a more accurate historical record of the activities of the creator; documents are more meaningful in context. Photographs also have more meaning when contextualized by description or relation to other materials, but there is also a long-standing practice of viewing or presenting a photo by itself, and making one image into a single representative icon. One example of this is how one photo of Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother became a symbol for the Great Depression, an economic period of 10-15 years that affected millions of people around the world. The entire collection of photos created by Dorothea Lange, and her biography, provide a more complete and historically accurate story about both Lange and the Migrant Mother photo.

Use dictates archival practice

Archival collections are grouped together by provenance because researchers use them for their value as a historical record. Use dictates archival practice and arrangement. As Guy Baxter  (2003) points out, libraries have traditionally catalogued on the item-level and treated the item as a source of information or enjoyment, preferring subject access over arrangement by provenance. Some archives adopted library practices when processing archival photos, preferring to arrange and describe individual photos by subject rather than provenance, in response to users searching for photos this way. Before archives went online, it was probably pretty easy for an archivist to observe how patrons used photos and to react accordingly to improve access and use, but online repositories separate the archivist from the digital user, creating distance between how digitization projects are designed and implemented, and the behaviors and needs of users. 

Use and user studies

User studies are not uncommon in the field of library and information science, but there is a lack of literature that focuses on the use of archival photographs; instead articles are often case studies detailing digitization projects from an archives’ point of view, or user studies focused on searching and retrieval in relation to digital resources. Paul Conway concluded his qualitative study, “Modes of Seeing: Digitized Photographic Archives and the Experienced User” (2010) by stating the need for quantitative studies of a similar nature, suggesting, “there is much to be learned about the actual use of digitized photographs by people with a variety of product orientations” (p. 459). Conway’s (2010) small study explored the use of the Library of Congress’s photo archives by seven diverse experienced users whose finished products included four books, a dissertation, “a dynamic website about the descendants of child laborers” (p. 447), and “an online database of digital images and metadata” (p. 447) of baseball players. Conway (2010) found that for these experienced users, the delivery system of the photos did not matter, and neither did the subject terms assigned by librarians; original order and historical context were more important.

Other studies focusing on different user groups suggest the opposite, which highlights the need for more comprehensive studies on all aspects of user behavior. Collins (1998) found in her study that users used mostly subject terms when requesting photos, with time and place being the next most frequently used terms, and the least-used terms were: genre, visual terms, format, and creator/provenance. Despite the difficulty of assigning subject terms to visual resources, multiple controlled vocabularies exist for this purpose, and technology allows for user-generated tags as well. The same system may not work for all users, but technology allows for more flexibility than paper and filing cabinets did in the past. The potential to increase use and improve accessibility is there, but archivists need to research more and plan better in order to use resources most efficiently. 

Valerie Harris and Peter Hepburn (2013) conducted a study that does address use, specifically the use of photos by historians, and the implications for archivists. Harris and Hepburn (2013) found that despite the increase in digitization efforts, the use of photos in scholarly historical journals did not increase between the years 2000 and 2009. Other studies cited by the authors (Harris and Hepburn, 2013) suggest that historians prefer more traditional methods of research, and when they do use photos, historians use photos as illustrations rather than as primary sources. Harris and Hepburn conclude their article with many suggestions to improve access and use for users of digital photographs: collaborating with historians and other users to shape digitization projects; using social networking sites such as Flickr to reach users where they already go; technology and visual literacy training for users; digitizing entire collections to improve their value as historical records (vs. selective digitization); marketing and promotion of digital resources; and examining other fields of scholarship, such as art history and media studies, to better encourage the use of visual resources. Some of these suggestions address increasing the use of photographs as historical record, which would be an effort to change user behavior; while others are a response to already existing user behavior. It is debatable how effective archivists could be at changing behavior, but for both types of suggestions, research and understanding of use and users are critical to success.

Diversity of users

Although historians are a primary user group of archives, there are other user groups with other needs. Ben Bergonzi’s (1995) market research study about the British Library’s photographic services showed “beyond doubt that a viable constituency of potential customers exists” (p. 1), although improvements needed to be made to increase actual use. “Penn State’s Visual Image User Study” (Pisciotta, Dooris, Frost, & Halm, 2005) also documents a “large, interdisciplinary, and growing market for the use of pictures- especially in digital form” (p. 33). Users seek images for commercial, academic, and personal use, and research and planning for future digitization projects must be undertaken to address the diverse needs of these audiences, in addition to a re-evaluation and possibly. Greater standardization for the processing of photographic archival materials may also be necessary to improve access and use of digital images since users prefer to search multiple repositories simultaneously. Archives are competing with the Google Image Search model, as several studies focused on students and faculty point out (Bridges & Edmunson-Morton, 2011) (Harley et al., 2006) (Waibel & Arcolio, 2005). 

(Harley et al., 2006, p. 4-24)

Many instructors use digital images for class presentations and to post online for their students (Harley et al., 2006). Even among instructors though, rates of usage, as well as requirements (such as the types and quality of images) differ across disciplines (Harley et al., 2006). 

(Harley et al., 2006, p. 4-38)

Conclusion
Evaluation and research are necessary for improving photographic archives, and improvement is necessary for survival and growth. Specifically, use and user studies are necessary for understanding how archival collections should be arranged and made accessible. Existing studies are few in number and diverse in findings, most likely because they look at different user groups with different needs. Even within large user groups there are sub-groups; digital technology is constantly improving and making it possible to meet the needs of all user populations, although this may also require stricter archival standards for photographs to allow convergence. But it all comes back to research, because standards also have to be based on user needs. Photographs are among the richest and also most marketable sources of information in archives, but the treasures that we have are often not easily accessible. The good news is, search strategies and accessibility are also derived from use! Studying the use of archival photographs can tell us so much about how to improve our archives, it is really time to start focusing more on this neglected aspect of research.

Sources

Baxter, G. (2003). The historical photograph: record, information source, object, resource. Art Libraries Journal, 28(55), 4-12.

Bergonzi, B. (1995). The use (and non-use) of the British Library's photographic services. Library Management, 16(7).

Bridges, L. M. & Edmunson-Morton, T. (2011). Image-seeking preferences among undergraduate novice researchers. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 6(1), 24-40.

Collins, K. (1998). Providing subject access to images: a study of user queries. The American Archivist, 61(1), 36-55.

Conway, Paul. (2010). Modes of seeing: digitized photographic archives and the experienced user. The American Archivist, 73, 425-462.

Harley, D. et al. (2006). Use and users of digital resources: a focus on undergraduate education in the humanities and social sciences. Center for studies in higher education.

Harris, V. & Hepburn, P. (2013). Trends in image use by historians and the implications for librarians and archivists. College & Research Libraries, 74(3), 272-287.

Pisciottoa, H. A., Dooris, M. J., Frost, J. & Halm, M. (2005). Penn State's visual image user study. Libraries and the Academy, 5(1), 33-58.

Lange, D. (1936). Migrant mother or Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California. Washington, D.C.: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Waibel, G. & Arcolio A. (2005). Out of the database, into the classroom: final report from the RLG Instructional Technology Advisory Group. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/culturalmaterials/outofthedb.html