Collections Digitization at The Henry FordEllice Engdahl, Digital Collections & Content Manager

Network DetroitSeptember 26, 2014

The Edison Institute, Founded 1929

Francis Jehl, Thomas Edison, President Herbert Hoover, and Henry Ford at Menlo Park Laboratory in Greenfield Village, 1929 (P.O.4556)

Five VenuesHenry Ford MuseumGreenfield VillageBenson Ford Research CenterThe Henry Ford IMAX TheaterFord Rouge Factory Tour

Henry Ford Museum, 1953 (P.B.3002)

Old Car Festival, 1959 (2005.0.9.18)

Marchant Calculating Machine, Model ACR8D, 1943 (86.142.5)

Numbers• People

– ~300 full-time staff

– 1100+ part-time staff (summer peak)

– Over 600 volunteers contributing nearly 100,000 hours annually

• ~236 acre campus– Museum =

600,000 sq. ft. (plus 45,000 sq. ft. for IMAX)

– Village (developed) = 81 acres

– ~80 historic structures

– 12+ non-historic structures

• ~250,000 objects• ~25 million archival

documents and photographs

• Historic audio and video

• 238 objects on loan to 64 institutions

• ~21,700 artifacts on display in Museum and Village (~5-10% of non-archives collection)

• More than 30 distinct collections storage areas totaling nearly 200,000 sq. ft.Eye Portrait, circa 1800 (61.151.40)

Our Collections:“The Bottomless Pit of Wonderfulness”

Pre-2010: “Random Acts of Digitization”

• Digitization usually tied to grant projects with varying requirements for cataloging, imaging (incl. format), & access (!)

• Video and audio converted to digital formats and stored on various network drives & physical media (!)

• Digitization records often stored outside of a centralized collections management system (!)

• Legacy hard copy images dating to 1920s and digital files dating to 1980s (incl. digital collections photos stored on CD) (!) Bear Approaching a Man with a Camera, circa 1955 (93.12.21)

The result

• Digitization tied to the strategic goals of the institution with standard requirements for cataloging, imaging (incl. format), & access

• Slowly attempting to get physical and intellectual control of digital video and audio

• Moving at-risk digital assets from physical media to backed-up server storage

• Centralized collections management system = repository of record for digital collections

1927 LaSalle Roadster (81.142.1)

2010-Present

32,109 objects digitized

Circus Poster, Barnum and Bailey Present "Marvelous Performances of the Troupe of Trained Cats and Pigs," circa 1895 (35.784.119)

By Type

3D Objects

Photo-graphs

Documents

Video/Film

By Location

Archives

Museum

Village

Admin

Storage

Ford Motor Company Highland Park Plant Showing One Day's Output of 1000 Cars, 1913 (94.112.1)

Digitization Output

Edison Automatic Mimeograph, No. 51, 1896-1905 (62.170.2)

Conservation

Imaging/AV Studio

photo Camera

stand Scanner AV capture

Metadata

Optional Description Specs 360°

What Encompasses “Digitization”?

Our System

Mr. C. Burr Forrest in Ford Model T Automobile, using Telephone Connection with Rural Telephone Line, 1910 (P.O.1077)

EMu (collections

management system)

APIsSQL DB

WEB MOBILE

KIOSKS

2014 project: John Burroughs

John Burroughs at the Door of His Chestnut Bark Study at Riverby, 1919 (00.1764.11)

John Burroughs' Album of Pressed Wildflowers Gathered during the Harriman Alaska Expedition, 1899 (93.205.123)

Letter to John Burroughs from Louise Bache, a Student Thanking Him for a Nature Walk, May 16, 1901 (93.205.125.6)

John Burroughs at the Grand Canyon, 1909 (93.205.66.1)

2014 project: IMLS grant communications equipment

Bell Laboratories Helium-Neon Gaseous Optical Maser, 1963 (63.173.1)Edison Phonograph, circa 1922 (29.2003.25)

Radio Receiver Used on the USS George Washington During President Wilson's Trip to France for Peace Negotiations, 1919 (36.557.1)

Commodore 64 Personal Computer, 1985 (2009.102.1)

2014 project: Greenfield Village building documentation

Back View of Cotswold Cottage at Its Original Site in England, 1929-1930 (EI.1929.249)

Ford Dealers in Greenfield Village for the Presentation of Farris Windmill to Henry Ford, November 6, 1936 (P.O.5949)

Ackley Covered Bridge Dedication, Greenfield Village, July 2, 1938 (EI.1929.14)

2014 project: Political buttons & badges

Benjamin Harrison Campaign Stickpin, 1888, 1892 (72.31.241)

Hazen Pingree Campaign Button, 1896, 1898 (75.168.2)

Roosevelt-Fairbanks Campaign Button, 1904 (72.31.290)

McKinley-Hobart Campaign Badge, 1896 (72.31.262)

William Bryan Campaign Button, 1908 (72.31.275)

2014 project:Jenny Young Chandler glass plate negatives

Tomboy of Darby Patch, Nellie Punching Bag, 1890-1915 (32.351.251)

Girls at a Used Book Stall, New York, 1890-1915 (32.351.20)

Boys in Brooklyn Children's Museum, 1899-1915 (32.351.38)

2014 project: Silver & pewter

Baby Rattle, 1720-1730 (62.73.3)

Compote, Made by Paul Storr, 1811-1812 (30.1729.5)

Inkstand, 1791-1792 (35.2.105)

2014 project: Dave Friedman collection

Dave Friedman Collection--Photographs--Slides--1963 Indianapolis 500--Item 51 (2009.158.427)

Dave Friedman Collection--Photographs--Digital Images--1962 Pacific Grand Prix--Item 436 (2009.158.317.2334)

Dave Friedman Collection--Photographs--Digital Images--1967 24 Hours of Le Mans--Item 612 (2009.158.317.3708)

2014 project: The Henry Ford on television

Broadcasting the "Howdy Doody" Show from Greenfield Village, Camera outside Scotch Settlement School, October 25, 1955 (S.T.2770)

Filming a Laser Show at Menlo Park Laboratory in Greenfield Village for ABC-TV's World of Discovery, May 25, 1989 (P.B.103705.2)

Filming Television Series "Window to the Past," Marion Corwell Shows Toys from the Collection, Henry Ford Museum, August, 1955 (P.B.10533)

Whittier Percussion Revolving Rifle, circa 1840 (00.3.1742)

Wheel Lock Musket, circa 1725 (00.3.15231)

Air Rifle, circa 1650 (2014.0.11.1)

2014 project: Firearms

• Move from database-only to storytelling

• User-centric approach

• Blending of physical and digital

• Integrate collections with the rest of our digital presence

• Showcase connections between artifacts, people, ideas

• New data outputs (e.g. 3D printing)

Buck Rogers Comic Strip Characters and Space Vehicles, Cocomalt Premium, circa 1934 (2001.49.1)

Future State: “Digital Content Engine”

Working Challenges

• Mass digitization vs. “special” treatment

• Institutional vs. external requirements

• Curatorial expertise vs. user interaction

• Archives content vs. material culture content

• Scholars vs. general public

• Partnerships vs. going solo

Big Bird Puzzle, 1973 (96.103.2)

Grants, Internships, & Volunteer Opportunities

Simmons Graduate Internship Program: For current graduate students pursuing careers in museums, archives, historical agencies, conservation labs, or related fields; stipend for a minimum 12-week full time internship

For-Credit and Volunteer Internships: Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in cultural heritage career-related work through for-credit and volunteer internships

Clark Research Grant Program: Support for research using the automotive history collections of The Henry Ford; applications accepted through November 15, 2014, for research to be completed during 2015

Henry Ford Trade School Students at Ford Exposition, New York World's Fair, 1939 (64.167.232.1656)

Thank you!

Ellice EngdahlDigital Collections & Content Manager, The Henry Ford

@ErisuEEE