Assignment 7: LoC Photos

Search Details:

Growing up, my family used to spend time almost every summer at my great-grandparents’ house in upstate New York. They lived in a little village called Hammondsport, best known for its lakeside location, its abundance of wineries, and its rich history of aviation. Glenn Curtiss, an aviation pioneer on par with the Wright Brothers grew up in Hammondsport where a museum bearing his name and history now stands. I decided that for assignment 7, I would look to see if I could find any photos related to historical Hammondsport. I searched the following terms and found 12 photos to bookmark in Delicious (username laura.doyle) :

Hammondsport

Keuka

Pleasant Valley

Curtiss

Satisfaction of results:

I was relatively satisfied with the results of my search. I knew it might be a longshot to find photos related to this very small village. All of the photos related to either Glenn Curtiss or Pleasant Valley Vineyards. I would have really enjoyed seeing a historical photo of the town square or photos of the lake, but I guess they were not as prominent in history as the booming winery business and first steps in aviation.

Analysis of the Library of Congress’ Digital Collection

The Library of Congress’ collection seems to me to be wide, but not deep. Though the library covers many, many subjects, some of these subjects only contain one photograph. In cases like this, I think it would be helpful for them to provide a link to an outside resource, such as a local historical society that might be better equipped to provide a patron with what they are looking for. I also wish the Library of Congress had more digitally archived photos, though from my experience digitally archiving photos for my job this summer, I know it is a time-consuming process. The Library of Congress does seem to have many great resources for those looking to find historic photos such as their organization of photos into collections and advanced search options. They also provide helpful tools such as Information for Researchers, finding aids, and an Ask a Librarian feature. Overall, I think this is a very valuable website and one that I would like to visit again in the future.