There are various ways small historical societies can choose to provide digital access to photo collections. This slideshow, done for a class, shows several examples.

1. Laura Loveday
LIS5937.751

2.  Time of staff or volunteers
 How it will be maintained / used in the
future
 Money for hosting or equipment
 Will it be self-hosted, through state
resources, or with a consortium?

3.  Sites focusing on localized history were
selected for having an online collection of
photos despite having a small size and
budget
 Attention was also paid to location to
ensure diversity

5. Section 257.35(6), Florida Statutes, "Any use or reproduction of material deposited with the Florida
Photographic Collection shall be allowed pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1)(b) and subsection
(4), provided that appropriate credit for its use is given."

6.  Photos can be protected by their size or
use of a watermark
 Online visibility allows visibility of the
society as well
“The majority of organizations who have shared their
materials would probably say that the benefits they've gained
from the exposure and the value the public has gained from
having access to their collections far outweigh any revenue
they may have lost.” -Kate Theimer

8.  Sites hosted by society staff members
allow future editing and maintenance
 Vendors have the latest technology to
make it user friendly (OCR, speed)
 Taking part in a consortium can give staff
time to improve skills while benefitting from
having some control over material

10.  Tagging allows users to have the best
search results
 Include names, events, buildings, etc.
 Archivists may want to consider including
numbers for their organizational needs

12.  Invest time in learning new software and
improving the society’s website
 Direct community members to the
archives to recognize people or places
 Digitize existing finding aids
 Create an online presence for exhibits

15. Keep an open mind and be creative!