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Library Launches Historic Photo Digitalization Project

Inspired by the dawning of Greenwich’s 375th Anniversary, the Greenwich Library is granting better accessibility to its plethora of historical content through photo digitalization.

One of the greatest ways to connect with the past is through photographs, which allow the viewers to place themselves in the scene of that time. The Library has in its possession over 2,500 photographs and negatives from the 19th and 20th centuries.

“The most prominent images come from John Gotch, who was a freelance photographer,” describes local history librarian Carl White. “Isaac Mead, Winfield Mills, and Mary Curley also donated photos from the late 1800s. The images depict prominent people, historic events and beautiful landscapes”.

In order to share these incredible images with the community, the Library has launched a photo digitalization project that will convert all 2,500+ photos and negatives into digital images. The new digital files will then be uploaded on their website for all to browse.

The process begins by scanning each of the photographs individually to create a digital copy. The librarians are using high-resolution scanners in order to preserve as much detail from the original version as possible. Any known information about an image is attached to the permanent record of the digital item. The file then gets stored on a Library hosted site, and appropriate records are created to be incorporated into the Library’s catalog.

The final step is to convert these master files into lower resolution images that are uploaded to a community website where everyone has access to them. The Library hopes that people will visit the site, browse the photos and leave comments below that will help librarians gain more information about the content of the image.

“While our librarians have been excellent at transcribing and deducing information available from the original images, we know that there are some gaps in knowledge about the photos,” says the Library’s Deputy Director Joseph Williams. “For example, there may be persons we can’t identify, or perhaps there was an error placed in the original image data. We are hoping that residents can help us improve these records, and with it, enhance our knowledge of the history of Greenwich.”

The photos are currently on view at www.greenwichlibrary.org/localhistory. Visit the site to get a first hand glimpse of Greenwich through the centuries, and leave your own comments to give further insight into their significance.

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