Storing digital images

Paulina Lobaton <paulina.lobaton [at] ashmus__ox__ac__uk> writes

>The Conservation Department at the Ashmolean Museum has recently
>started taking digital images to record the treatment process of
>objects instead of the traditional slide film. We would very much
>like to hear how other conservation departments store their images
>in their computer files. If it is done by accession number, by the
>department to which the object belongs to, etc. What are the storage
>methods you find useful and drawbacks. Any experiences and
>suggestions are very much welcome.

I also use digital images here at Bolton Museum and they are stored
in a couple of ways. Images key to the object are attached onto the
database record along with the condition report and treatment
record. I try to store all images by accession number, occasionally
putting a description of the object in brackets if there is a set of
similar objects within a run of numbers. All of the museum data is
backed up centrally by the councils' computing team but I also save
to disk, particularly if I have extra detailed images that are not
essential for the main database record but may be of use to me for
reference. The only real problem I have found is the amount of space
taken up by large numbers of images which limits the number I can
attach into the database.

Pierrette Squires
Conservator
Bolton Museum and Archive Service
Le Mans crescent
Bolton BL1 1SE
+44 1204 332196


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:33
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 5, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-21-33-007
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