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Pre ‘50s Photo Negatives Can Be Preserved Digitally Before They Are Lost Forever
Aspects of Digitization: Scanning Negatives
11/18/20
By: I. S.
The rich stories told through the photo negatives, books and other materials in the Digital Collections are available for free to anyone in the world. Together they tell a vibrant and dramatic story of how the residents of Miami-Dade County overcame adversity to build a prosperous, diverse community.
In 2018, Digital Collections began the journey of scanning these slides and negatives so you can see them from wherever you are. What goes into scanning negatives and slides? Take a peek into the process as our Digitization Specialists examine photographic slides and scan photographic negatives.
It’s not easy to look at a slide or negative without having a bright light behind it. To help, our specialists use a light table that shines a light through its surface. This allows them to see the images and determine if they should be scanned and added to the Digital Collections.
Negatives and slides are scanned in an Epson 12000 XL photography scanner to produce a high-resolution digital image. Unlike a typical scanner, this is built for transparencies with glass on both the top and bottom. Different-sized trays allow our specialists to scan negatives and slides of all sizes, from black and white 4 x 5 inch negatives to color 2 x 2 inch Kodachrome slides, while keeping them flat and unharmed.
Certain negatives produced before the 1950s are made of cellulose nitrate, which can give off toxic fumes if they are deteriorating. Deteriorated negatives are separated and eventually disposed of so that they do not damage the rest of the collection, but first they are also scanned when necessary. When working with these negatives, our specialists wear proper personal protective equipment to keep safe from the fumes.
Our process includes the evaluation of the images, scanning, uploading the images into our content management system, CONTENTdm and adding metadata (the information about the image) before finally posting the image online. This process guarantees the long-term preservation of and access to these images.
Check out the negatives and slides that have already been scanned in our Gleason Waite Romer and Historical Records of Miami-Dade Public Library System collections. Be sure to check back often to see the most recent additions!
Night view of Main Library and Miami-Dade Cultural Center Plaza
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