Re: AIS Library Policy and Procedures

[Robt R Pries <rpries@sbcglobal.net>]

The AIS library has been in a formative stage for some
time. Much progress has been made and much more can be
expected in the future. The potential forthcoming
money from the Hager estate can easily make possible
our expectations of a good Iris library a reality. 
Terry expressed a rather negative view of where he
believes we are now. I on the other hand am thinking
in terms of where we will want to be in the near
future. The vision of what a good library is be must
be articulated or the goal will never be met. With
creation of suitable standards, policies, procedures,
and goals the vision can and will materialize.
To prevent the black hole archive Terry alludes to,
two factors need to be in place. A catalog of what is
in the library and a means to disperse copies to
fulfill requests. It seems easily obtainable to
achieve both. But standards on how this will be
accomplished can save much redoing later. Even before
any Hager funds are available means to achieve these
goals can be facilitated and enabled by a cooperative
effort between AIS, the Foundation, and individuals.
It only requires the will to carry out the vision. I
initiated this discussion to allow input into the
formulation of that vision. Where we are right now is
less important then where we want to be.

--- Terry Aitken <terry@flowerfantasy.net> wrote:

> Hi All
> I have a few instinctive opinions subject to much
> change by the input 
> from others.
> The concept of sending slides to the AIS library is
> like throwing money 
> down a bottomless pit.
> Yes, something should be done to preserve historical
> photos. I am aware 
> that there are massive collections of slides all
> over the world and that 
> they ALL need evaluation for posterity. We are
> probably talking about an 
> obsolete product (the digital takeover!) which will
> be rendered unusable 
> before they can be cataloged. We need to be thinking
> of pictures in 
> magnitudes of 100,000 increments with maybe 250,000
> being a wild 
> estimate on my part before this project is done.
> These need to be cataloged by a team of volunteers
> based on the 
> magnitude of the task. Yes, the original slides can
> be stored at the 
> library after they have been cataloged. (Even
> culling inferior 
> duplicates is an enormous task.)
> The real task is getting these images into useable
> digital images that 
> can be duplicated quickly and cheaply "on demand".
> This needs to be done 
> before the slides go to the library.
> Logistics can be fascinating! We are in the throws
> of a rapid 
> technological change which will initially complicate
> and, ultimately, 
> simplify our lives.
> I would still maintain that each AIS Section should
> catalog their own 
> photos first. Step one with all of these slide
> collections is - get them 
> to the Sections. Each Section should be converting
> their own data to 
> digital.. (I plan to do this with my Medians) Once
> this is done, then 
> the originals can go to the library as a "resource
> of last resort".(?)
> Step number one is to establish a catalog system
> between the sections 
> and AIS that allows for rapid searches and recovery.
> I believe that I 
> have a system since I am already dealing with 4
> categories of Medians. 
> However, others may come up with something better,
> so discussion is 
> necessary.
> I would contemplate the storage of digital images on
>  remote hard drives 
> and the need to use both  CD and DVD burners to
> transport information 
> copies on demand. PC and MAC compatibility will be
> very important but 
> not difficult.
> The Hager slides are but the tip of the iceberg. The
> folks in St. Louis 
> are already going thru the Harder slides with the
> same dilemma. There 
> are many other collections which will eventually
> find their way to the 
> library.
> Scanning is a painfully slow process, never mind
> cataloging! I'm not 
> sure where we are going to find an "army of ants" to
> get this thing 
> done!!???
> Onward and upward!!!!
> Have a great holiday season - and come back rested!
> I anticipate a 
> spectacular year ahead!
> Terry Aitken, Median Slide Chair
> 
> Robt R Pries wrote:
> 
> >The Hager/DuBose Estate will create a substantial
> but
> >as yet unknown amount of money for the AIS Library
> >available each year. It promises to make the
> library a
> >substantial AIS institution. But with every
> >opportunity there are associated problems. For
> >example, the library is an AIS entity but the
> estate
> >will have the AIS Foundation administering its
> funds.
> >It is a situation similar to the US presidency and
> the
> >congress. I would propose that before money is
> >available and is begun to be allocated that the AIS
> >board and the Foundation create a written set of
> >policies, procedures and standards. In this way
> both
> >groups along with the librarian and the library
> >committee can function without continual action and
> >reaction on the part of the three groups. If the
> >goals, policy and standards are set in advance,
> life
> >should be easier for all concerned.
> >
> >The Hager slides already cry out for some policy to
> be
> >in place. I would suggest that they be archived in
> the
> >library. Although the AIS slide program chair
> should
> >obviously have access to these, I believe the
> archive
> >itself should reside in the library for two
> reasons.
> >First the library is a relatively permanent place
> >whereas slide chairman changes and slide sets run
> the
> >risk of loss with changing locations. Second there
> >will be funds available to the library for
> duplication
> >and/or scanning of the slides and the maintenance
> of
> >the archive. 
> >
> >I am not jumping the gun on policy, especially
> >concerning slides since these are already in hand.
> >They require cataloging, scanning so they can be
> used,
> >and storage. They are many decisions that need to
> be
> >made concerning how this will be done and some
> funds
> >needed to accomplish this. There are scores of
> issues
> >around this that should be resolved, so the AIS and
> >the Foundation understand how the archiving and
> >accessing this data will be accomplished. 
> >
>
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> 
>
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