Norwegian version

Out of the darkroom

Quantity – or rather the disparity between the quantity of photographic material, ambition and resource – forms the underlying premise of this report.

The quantity of photographs of either intrinsic photographic and/or cultural historic value determines the course of action to be followed when one seeks to resolve the issues associated with collection, preservation, digitization, cataloguing and access; as the volume increases, so does the need for a planned approach and for greater competence in the field.

Chapter 1 describes the report, setting out the main themes, parameters, the processes and the content. Chapter 2 discusses the historical and organisational background to the work.

Chapter 3 looks at the main challenges that will be facing the field over the next five years.  These challenges are fundamental and will to some extent require a change of focus and direction in order to arrive at suitable solutions.

There is clear potential for improvement of the policies governing both the collection of materials and the administration of the collections in many parts of the archive, library and museum sector.  In addition, those in charge of  the preservation of photographs to a large degree do not have defined (and co-ordinated) guidelines and plans to support their activities. For instance, in order to meet the challenges presented by the quantities of material, the aspirations related to digitization and the ever increasing number of donors of analogue photographs to the archives, careful consideration must be given to the issues surrounding the collection and selection of the photographs. The areas of work requiring the greatest financial resource for the work to be carried out in the five year period are digitization, cataloguing and the creation of access. In order to achieve  general online access to the materials that is of both appropriate extent and quality within a reasonable time-frame, there is a need for sizeable financial investment for the digitization and cataloguing of analogue materials.

The current levels of resource and the methods employed cannot be said to bear much relationship to the challenges, aspirations and expectations.

The third problem discussed in Chapter 3 is lack of competence, and the need to develop it, not only for carrying out the necessary practical work, but also for the expansion of knowledge and research. Increased competence would contribute to the widening of access to the materials and to a greater understanding of the role of the photograph in society, both for the professional and the layman.

Chapter 4 sets out the strategies and provides recommendations for meeting these challenges in a professional, appropriate and cost effective manner. Some key proposals deal with decisions on priority and selection, methodology, the raising of competence, and regional centralization/specialization. Several of the recommendations have important financial consequences which are discussed in Section 4.7.

Section 4.1, dealing with policies for the collection of materials and the administration of collections, defines existing needs and sets out strategies for deciding priority, method and co-ordination in the work on photographic preservation. It is recommended that funding should be made available to purchase cultural historical photographs, in order to safeguard important collections and archives, and to ensure that the collections are kept up-to-date and representative. In the field of digitization, cataloguing and the creation of access, calculations reveal that there is considerable disparity between aspirations and available resource. In addition to the recommendation for an overall funding increase, various initiatives are proposed with the aim of rationalizing efforts to resolve current issues. The challenges are considered to be of such a magnitude that the search for solutions should be undertaken jointly by those involved both at the national and regional levels, and the proposals include recommendations both for regional specialization and for centralization.

The report also points out the need to consider digitization, cataloguing and the creation of access together, in order to provide genuine public access to the materials. One of the challenges is how to develop efficient cataloguing and search tools, and one method suggested is the co-ordination between the different development organisations. In the main, the recommendations adopt a quantitative focus, including the discussions of cataloguing, with the aim above all to provide a comprehensive overview and to facilitate access to the materials for professionals and general public alike.  In the area of preservation, priority has been given to the needs that apply when photographs are serving as archive material, both inside and outside archival institutions;  there is also the need for preservation services with the necessary skills, and the need to develop standards and services for the long term preservation of digitized materials. The latter is seen as a particularly urgent requirement in the field.

Section 4.4 discusses shortcomings in research and the need for expansion and dissemination of information of the field. This relates in part to poor documentation of new information being acquired as a consequence of the continuing activities of the collections and archives, and a lack of established channels for the dissemination of such information. One of the recommendations is the strengthening of Preus Museum as a national centre of expertise in the area. There is a vital link between research and the expansion of knowledge and of public access to and use of the materials.

The most important aspect of the recommendations in Section 4.5 in respect of improving competence is the need for regular training and educational courses with set syllabuses for photographic archivists and other professional personnel. Another useful source for skills improvement is considered to be newly published articles.

The strategies and the effects these recommendations will have on organizational structure are discussed in Section 4.6. Here, the primary recommendation is the creation of a smaller number of regional centres of expertise, offering services for example for digitization and in preservation. However, this aim should be seen as being long term and independent of archive materials, and it will also be subject to the outcome of the upcoming regional reform.

Many of the challenges and recommendations contained in the document are not material or sector specific, but apply to the whole archive, library and museum sector. They refer especially to the challenges of digitization/cataloguing, digital preservation, and so some extent the to the need for improved competence and the availability of training courses. Also of benefit to the area of photographic preservation should be the combined services offered by the various shared storage facilities and archive and museum centres which are currently being created or are at the planning stage. It is therefore recommended to seek solutions mainly by means of integrated initiatives and efforts, as opposed to working on isolated material specific solutions. This should not be seen as a reduction of the need for professionalism and specialization but rather as a strategy to free up resources and concentrate them in those areas where material specific solutions are necessary.

1.5.1 Prioritization of proposed initiatives

Proposals for initiatives to be given precedence are here set out one by one, listed at the national, regional and local levels.  Initiatives with relevance for more than one level will be repeated for each level in question. The reasoning behind the initiatives and a description of them in a broader context can be found in Chapter 4.

National level

• Definition and publication of selection principles and criteria for photography
• Drawing up of a national strategy documents for the preservation of photographs
• Further development of the Photographic records
• Securing funding for the purchase of cultural historical photographs
• Development of a comprehensive digital strategy (cf. A cultural heritage for all)
• Establishment of a shared development body for Asta and Primus
• Establishment of a shared forum for developers and users
• Preparation of a shared catalogue/search facilities for Norwegian photograph archives and collections
• Establishment of national standards and services to be available for the long term preservation of digitized materials
• Launch of the Fjellanger Widerøe project
• Acquisition of increased resources for research and the expansion of knowledge in the Preus Museum and other key institutions
• Appointment of a working group for the creation of training and educational courses with set syllabuses
• Production and publication of guidelines for techniques of preservation of photographs (a new “Book on the Preservation of Photographs”), to include a special focus on appropriate standards and recommendations

-         Appointment of a working group to prepare a publication strategy for the field

Regional and local levels

• Drawing up of regional strategy documents for the preservation of photographs
• Development of a comprehensive digital strategy (cf. A cultural heritage for all) (including regional centres of expertise for digitization)
• Enhancement of competence in the use of photographs as archival materials (for archives, libraries and museums)
• Establishment of regional centres of expertise for the preservation of photographs
• Completion of the Fjellanger Widerøe project
• Creation of a network of regional institutions with special responsibility, together with definitions of their special duties and responsibilities 
• Recognition that photographic archivists are a source of knowledge, for example for teaching projects in the institutions
• Adjustment of the duties of the current regional institutions with special responsibilities in line with, for example, the amalgamation of museums and with the findings of the survey of the regional institutions with special responsibility for photographic preservation
• Following up the project “CountyPhotographNetwork Rogaland” and other similar initiatives, to ensure that valuable experience of rationalization and co-ordination gained at the local level can be transferred to the whole field.

1.5.2 Criteria for success

The satisfactory achievement of the goals within five years would involve the attainment of:

• Planned and integrated procedures for the preservation of photographs at all levels
•  The application at national, regional and local levels of established selection criteria and procedures 
• An integrated national and regional investment in the digitization process
• Co-ordinated and/or jointly organized bodies for the development of catalogue and search tools
• Efficient, online cataloguing tools
• Detailed proposals for, or possibly the establishment of, shared search facilities or cataloguing for cultural historical photographs
• Funding for the purchase of cultural historical photographs
• Laid-down standards and availability of services for digital preservation
• Improved conditions to enable photographic archivists and other interested personnel to contribute to the growth of research and the expansion of knowledge in the field
• Increased dissemination of cultural historical photography both at the professional and the creative levels
• Increased skills for the preservation of photographs across all of the archive, library and museum sector, including an increase in the number of photograph archivists and curators (of photography)
• Established regular training and educational courses with set syllabuses for the different fields and levels of competence
• An established information and publication channel for the whole professional field
• Regional centres of expertise being developed to include digitization and preservation
• The inclusion of photographic preservation as an accepted area of competence in all established regional centres of expertise, including centres for archives and museums, union catalogues, digitization centres, and suchlike