In my last post, I argued that item level description can be like accidentally ending up on a freight train to crazytown –  especially if your family archive is BIG and it includes boxes n’ boxes n’ boxes of historic treasures. This is also true if you’ve been left with an alarming number of unidentified photos.

Can’t remember my argument against item level description? It’s OK. Lucky for us we’re on the internet which means you can go to it right now via the handy dandy link below.

Organize Photos Like an Archivist, Part 1: Levels of Description

Examples of “Minimal Description” Box & Folder Level

Before we get into the nitty gritty of item level description, let’s take a look at what I mean when I say “box level” and “folder level” –

Example One:

The guide to the Angela Davis Trial uses box level to describe the trial transcripts, and folder level to describe the letters of correspondence. You can do this with your family collection, too. Or even your research files. The key is to describe it at the highest level that allows you to access the items you need.

Example Two:

The William Boss finding aid describes the contents of a box without using folder numbers. They still give the number of folders for each  sub-series, which is nice because it gives you information about how much there is on that particular topic. Archivists and librarians call that extent. Numbering the folders does the same thing, of course.

Example Three:

The finding aid for the J.T. Johnson papers has an entire sub-series with exactly the sorts of photographs you’re likely to have in your collection of ancestor photos. Take a look a this list and reassure yourself that your project is totally do-able. Don’t overcomplicate things. If you don’t know what it is, just describe what you see.

Pay attention to how this kind of description gives you lots of information about the photographs WITHOUT identifying every single date, location and person.

You should create this kind of a list before you get into the details of each individual photograph (like location, date and names). More importantly, create this list before you start scanning.

Do I have your full attention? Good. Here’s the JT Johnson finding aid:

JT Johnson Papers

Series 1: Photographs, 1880s-1950s

Subseries 1A: Photographs: Personal and Family, 1880s-1950s

What the heck does “Scope and Content” mean?

Scope notes are created by the processing archivist to describe the entire collection, or series, or subseries.  You can create a scope note for any one of these levels.

Here’s a scope note that describes an entire box of items. Look it over and tell me if I’m a liar for thinking this is something you can totally do (dates are great if you know them, circa dates work, but don’t stop to figure out dates at this point):

So.

This is what I’m saying to you:

Save yourself a lot of headaches by starting your photo organizing project with the box level in mind.

But even I acknowledge that, sometimes?

Item Level Is OK.

I don’t want you to think that item level is never allowed, or that it’s always a waste of your time. Sometimes it’s perfectly appropriate.

What I really want is for you to realistically assess how much time you can put into your family photo project.

That means actually calculating how many hours you have available and blocking it out on your calendar like a class or a standing lunch date.

Concentrate this scheduled time on the exact projects that will give you the maximum payoff with the least effort. It’s a great idea to block out big chunks of time in a short period whenever possible. Consider it insurance against the curse of the half finished organizing project.

The quicker and more efficiently you move it forward, the better you’ll leave it even if you have to bail when it’s half done. Box list first. Then the nitty gritty.

You won’t regret it.

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Kid art is awesome, isn’t it? Just like photographs, my advice is to ditch the clutter and treat the keepers right. How does that work? Click here to learn more about my new School Days Time Capsule, available for a short time only. You also get to see some of my kids’ artwork. Yay!

Every year around the “Gotta Get Organized!” time of year, I give away one free information product that helps folks just like you organize photo collections. This year, I asked my email list subscribers and readers to tell me about their greatest information need. We narrowed it down to two choices, and “How to Organize Photos Like An Archivist” was the winner.

Level of Description: What Does That Mean?

Most people assume that archival items (like photographic prints, for example) are cataloged individually. One at a time. Item by item. You know, the way books are cataloged individually. Or films. Or Weird Al Yankovic albums.

Here’s the thing: Those are individual works created for a specific purpose.

You can’t treat every memo in a large modern organization’s papers the same way as you treat the final print of a feature film. Imagine creating a title for every single document created by a large union over a 50 year timespan. Or every piece of outgoing and incoming correspondence for a U.S. Senator who served multiple terms. It’s not possible based on current staffing rates.

In my experience, item level description is the exception rather than the rule. Here in the real world, the amount of time it takes to create an item level inventory is much greater than the time it takes to type a list of folder titles. In comparison? The folder (or envelope) level seems utterly do-able. Which is why I’m such a big advocate for it.

Your Options (Other Than Item Level)

Basically, there are three other choices.

Collection level, box level and folder/envelope level. Nowt I’m gonna break it down in more detail for you below with examples. Ready?

Collection Level: This is the absolute minimum level of information to describe the papers of a single person or organization. There are oodles of reasons to organize based on ownership, but since we’re talking about family photo collections I want to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. JUST KNOW THIS: If you keep track of who owned which photographs, you have given yourself a fighting chance to identify the mystery ones.

Even when you’re only describing at the collection level, you can still convey some vitally important information.

• Anne Lyons Jacobs, 2 Photograph Albums and 3 Boxes of Loose Photographs, ca. 1880-1980 Note: Album 2 is acidic “magnetic” style, photo removal is HIGH PRIORITY.

Box Level: In my book, box level is just a skoonch below minimal acceptable level. It’s a great start, don’t get me wrong. I encourage you create a box level inventory as soon as you inherit someone else’s photographs. Therefore, I’m giving you two examples: One is an example of the kind of records it’s OK to leave at the box level, the other is how you describe it before your organizing project. This box level inventory helps you prioritize your bigger organizing project so you don’t lose your mind.

• 1 Box Recipe Cards, arranged alphabetically, ca 1940-1970 (1 cardfile box)
• Mom’s hat box with photos from her high school and college years (19xx-19xx).

Folder level: Me? I like to think of this level as the sweet spot. Totally do-able, but makes finding a specific photo quick and easy. The list doesn’t duplicate the collection, but it points you to the right place.

For example, you could put all the photos from one ancestor’s school years in a single envelope, or perhaps if it’s your own college years, the photos of your graduation weekend might take up an entire envelope or folder.

Don’t know the names of everyone in the photo? Or the names of anyyone? Simply put them in an envelope titled “unknown snapshots, ca. 19xx-19xx” When you put that folder title on a list, it’s under a heading that identifies who owned the photos. It’s hierarchical, which saves you from having to repeat the same information over and over.

Box 1: Anne Lyons Jacobs Photographs

• Folder 1: Lyons Family Photos, 1880-1910
• Folder 2: Unknown snapshots, ca. 1900-1920

What About Item Level?

Listen, if you have the time and patience to create an item level inventory for all the photographs in your care, then more power to you. Go for it! But if you have a lot of  unmarked mystery photos, item level description can be like a freight train to crazy town. How can you possibly create a title for each of your unknown photos? There are ways. The Photo Detective is there to help you, of course.

My main argument is this, and I’m putting it in all caps for the scanners, not because I’m yelling or anything…

GET FOLDER LEVEL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING

(YES, EVERYTHING)

BEFORE YOU GET BOGGED DOWN IN ITEM LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS.

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Got any questions?

Insights regarding your own photo organizing struggles?

Share then in the comments, below…

[Re: The "?" in the title: Although it comes as a surprise to many people, this information and advice is not even remotely shocking if you are an archivist. Just sayin. ]

Contrary to popular belief, archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat?

An archivist?

Throwing things out?

Yep.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss — based on what items have enduring value.

But aren’t archivists the keepers of our shared history?

Yes. It’s true and we take that role very seriously. But there is a bigger picture here, and that is The Big Undeniable Truth:  If historical societies kept every single item that landed on their doorstep….every canceled check… every unidentified photograph… every duplicate map… there wouldn’t be any room left for new collections. None! And you and I both know that won’t work in the long run. Not hardly.

One of my archival professors likes to use this unforgettable rhyme: When in doubt, throw it out.

Does that mean we should be cavalier about tossing historical materials? Heck no. Does it mean you should toss treasures willy nilly? Absolutely not.

Here’s what “When in doubt, throw it out” means:

If you can’t think of a good reason to keep it, it needs to go.

Sometimes that means go into the trash. Sometimes that means go somewhere else (your kids, for example). There are many possibilities. I’m here to tell you that you have no ethical obligation to keep every photo.

Please keep in mind that the older the photo, the more people who share ownership…so those should go to genealogy cousins or a historical society. I wonder if there’s some kind of matching service for genealogy cousins? Leave me a voicemail if you need to find one: 608-616-0058 and I’ll see what I can do. If all else fails, consider Dead Fred.

Too Many Photos Leads to Overwhelm. Overwhelm Kills Motivation.

Are you feeling so overwhelmed by your photos that you can’t get started on your photo organizing project? You are not alone. Here’s what Mary had to say when I first started offering free photo organizing tips:

Sally, this is great – super helpful! All of my photos are in drugstore envelopes, including the ones from my honeymoon…6 years ago. Even some of our wedding photos are still in boxes.

I have avoided the task because it truly never occurred to me that it was okay to throw away my family photographs.

With this new information in hand, the idea of putting together a photo album, etc. sounds like fun because I’ll actually *like* the finished product. Because I was NOT excited about putting together an album of indistinguishable landscapes, people standing in front of things, and people eating.

Deciding What To Keep – Some Helpful Guidelines:

1. Respect Age.

In family collections, age and scarcity tend to go hand in hand. For example, the only known photograph of your great great aunt Rose? Or your grandparents’ wedding? Those are keepers. They are worth the investment of high quality archival photo storage boxes and folders. These are also the ones you should scan first.

2. People Pictures.

When my husband and I were rescuing photos from our grandparents’ magnetic albums, it became obvious that certain photos weren’t worth saving. Generally speaking, what we decided to keep was pictures of our grandparents and other family members. What we skipped was vacation snapshots of mountains and buildings, and unidentified people who were strangers to us. We gave as many as we could to other family members in the hopes that those “orphan photos” could be identified.

3. Sentimental Value.

One of the wonderful things about working with family photo collections (as opposed to working in a historical society) is that sentimental value reigns supreme. Future generations will want to have your favorites.

More on this topic from Sally J. (Practical Archivist):

1. Level of Description: What it means and how it can keep you from losing your mind as you organize your family history photographs
2. Deciding What to Toss: This is difficult but NOT impossible
3. Organizing Photos, What to Keep? Respect Age
4. Organizing Photos, What to Keep? Respect Scarcity

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In an earlier post about how to organize photos, I talked about respecting age.

The older the photograph, the harder you should try to find another home for it if you don’t want to keep it yourself. Part of the reason why you should respect age is because age goes hand in hand with scarcity.

What makes a photo scarce?

In addition to age, there are other factors that create scarcity.

Here’s a list off the top of my head, please add more via the comments section:

• Entire collections destroyed due to disaster (loss of home, fire, flood, etc.)
• Family photographers are notoriously under-documented in family photo albums.
• How many photos do you have of yourself at work? I’ve noticed that very few people have photos of themselves at work, and even fewer take photographs of their work places.
• Family separations or bad feelings can cause restricted access to photos, or in the worst case scenario photos of certain individuals can be destroyed in anger.
• People who die young.*

*OK. I had to segregate this next part from my breezy list. February 1st is the anniversary of the death of my nephew William Evan Manley. Originally I was going to write about Evan, and  my husband’s Uncle Joe… but I found I just couldn’t do it. Let’s acknowledge the reality of this kind of loss (I’m far far far from alone, I know) and cherish the photos we have. They are precious beyond measure.

And if you are struggling with grief, I highly recommend a book called How To Go On Living When Someone Else Dies, by Therese Rando. Buy from Amazon (aff), or your favorite local bookstore. Or check it out from the library.

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I realize that my advice about tossing photos (“lose the dreck!”) can make some folks nervous.

If you are one of those people, I want to reassure you that I do not suggest anyone toss out ancestor photos willy-nilly. No way.

Respect Age (when you toss photo clutter)

“Respect Age” – means just that. The older a photo is, the less likely that the person (or place, or time period) has been documented somewhere else. Photography was never a cheap hobby, and the earlier the date the more so that was true. In other words, it’s unlikely you have sooo many pre-1950s photos in your collection that you need to start tossing.

But then again, maybe you do.

In that case, I recommend that you find brothers or sisters or cousins to share them with. If you don’t have any of those, find a genealogy cousin. The older the photo, the more of those cousins are out there. (Am I right?)

The second half of “Lose the dreck” is
“Treat the keepers right”

“Treating the keepers right” means tucked away into archival photo boxes and envelopes

Treating them right also means stored away from:

• direct light
• fluctuating heat
• high heat
• high humidity
• fluctuating humidity

If you want to display these photographic treasures — and I strongly encourage you to do so — a simple digital scan will allow you to easily display a newly printed copy of the original.

Scrapbooking is a very popular hobby here in the United States. Surely you’ve seen stunning examples in your own family or group of friends. And who wouldn’t appreciate a personalized scrapbook made for them by someone they love? What a beautiful, thoughtful gift! Scrapbookers are creative artists who have collectively raised the bar on what we consider a quality photo album.

But there’s a dark side to this — and it doesn’t have anything to do with preservation…

I consulted with a client once who was sort of beating herself up about scrapbooking. She had made a vow to herself to deal with her photographs before the end of the year, and the kids were back in school already.

Here’s what she said to me:

“I feel like I’ll be judged a bad mom if I don’t transform all these photos into beautiful scrapbooks.”

How on earth did this happen?

Please understand: I’ve got nothing against scrapbooking. For many people, it’s a beloved hobby. For me, it’s a nightmare. If there’s such a thing as a”crafty gene” I can assure you that mine is damaged or missing entirely. And while I can recognize and appreciate good design, I can’t seem to create it, much to my dismay. Add to that the fact that I can’t seem to trim a photo correctly or set one down on a page without it coming out crooked, and you can see why I don’t go on weekend-long scrapbooking retreats.

We owe scrapbookers a huge dept of gratitude for making so many presentation options available. Especially photo-safe options. The scrapbooking industry has literally held manufacturer’s feet to the fire and demanded acid free materials. But no one should feel guilty if they prefer to use slip-in pages and plain 3-ring binders rather than a 12 color layout with embossed letters and a lovely translucent overlay. Presentation matters, yes. But don’t let other people’s elaborate designs prevent you from organizing, archiving and sharing your photos. At the end of the day it’s the photos and the stories behind them that matter.

Organizing Photos for NON-Scrapbookers:

• Remind yourself before you start that the presentation is the icing, not the cake itself.
• Choose the photos you love the most. The ones that stop you in your tracks. That make you grin, or cry. Whatever. The ones that really MEAN something to you.
• Write down the stories behind your photos – the stories that will disappear after you are no longer here to tell them. I use Denis LeDoux’s Photo Scribe method, which is designed specifically for people who are intimidated by writing. It’s one of the 5 books I recommend to every family historian, see Practical Archivist Recommends for more details.
• Regardless of your personal style, be sure to use only PAT-passed materials. See this article of mine to learn why so-called “archival photo boxes” might not be as safe as you imagine.
• Start with one album that chronicles you and your partner’s lives together. If you have kids, start with an album about your lives together before kids.
• Next, you can create one for each of your kids. Skip the baby pictures if you already have an elaborate baby book with pictures.
• After that’s done, make the “extra” scrapbooks for individual vacations, etc.

Two final thoughts:

PRESENTATION IS THE ICING, NOT THE CAKE.

Perfection Is the Enemy of the Good

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Our favorite photographs are valuable beyond measure. Many folks name a photo or album of photos as the possession they would grab first if they ever had to flee. Just last month, I heard a story about a woman who escaped her burning office tower on September 11th…only to rush back inside to retrieve the photograph of her daughter she had left behind in the panic. She never returned.

We place a high value on the photographs we treasure most, and that is perfectly reasonable. Just thinking about them disappearing is horrible to contemplate — so horrible that we might actually go back inside a burning building to rescue one.

So, how on earth can I talk about photographs as clutter?

It’s simple, actually.  All photographs are not created equal. They do not have the same value.

What I think happens is that we generalize our intense love of specific photos to a love of all photographs. As if the value lies in the medium, rather than the content.  This is misguided.

But before we can decide if photographs can be clutter, we should probably get a handle on what clutter is.

What is clutter?

I’ve been reading up on organizing and clutter busting lately, so I’ll let the experts tackle this question for us.

“Clutter is anything in your life that no longer serves you.”

Brooks Palmer, Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What’s Holding You Back, p. 12.

Brooks is my favorite of all the “get organized” authors. I just love his style. He is very calm and extremely supportive. He points out the outward signs that reveal whether a specific object is clutter or not: If thinking about it makes you tired, it’s clutter. If it brings you joy and energy, it’s not. Easy peasy.

If a photograph no longer serves you, get rid of it.

Blurry ones are obvious. As are the end of the roll shots we used to take so we could take the film in to be developed. (Something kids these days will never have to do!) Those snapshots of childhood acquaintances whose name you can no longer remember? Let them go. Photos of childhood friends you still love and adore? Keep. But remember you don’t have to keep every single snapshot.

“Clutter is postponed decisions.”

Barbara Hemphill, Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever p. 41

This one’s a kicker, let me tell ya. I would like to remind you that no one knows your story as well as you do. If you insist on keeping every single photo you are setting up a disaster down the road. Your kids will not be able to discern which images are significant, and which are meaningless. The inevitable result is that they will toss them.

Much better for you to invest some time now and purge the low value photos. Then you can focus on taking proper care of your high value photos. Write down the who, what, where, when and why. Share the stories behind the images. Make it as easy as possible for your kids to say “Yes, I’ll keep it!” by leaving them only the best photos.

Note: Book title links take you to Amazon.com. If you decide to purchase from that link, a small fraction of your purchase price will go to yours truly. Like a tip jar!

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This video from UNC-Chapel Hill reveals a neat-o way to store fragile pamphlets upright on a book shelf. If you want to get fancy, you can scan the original cover and attach a printout to your new cover. You can even add an edge label so you will know the title without opening anything up. Why should you bother?

With this system, the pamphlet lives in a custom envelope, so it stays dust free. Why is it important to keep dust away? My years as an archivist and my former career in a used book store showed me that if you wait long enough? Dust turns into gritty dirt. And not only is dirt is more difficult to clean — the grit can scratch and permanently damage your treasures as you attempt to clean it. D’oh!

Dust = Dirt = Damage

Another advantage of this system is that it protects ephemeral items from UV rays.

Light = Damage

If all you need is a regular reminder to stay on track, there are plenty of free tools to choose from. Here are three to get you started:

Future Me – write yourself a letter to be delivered at a later date.

GottaKeepUp.com – Get reminders at work, home, or on the go.

rminder.com – Enter your reminder and receive a voice or text message to your phone to remind you. You can sync these reminders with iCal, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar and more.

But be careful! Technology can just as easily enable bad procrastination habits, as I warned you earlier.

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Contrary to popular belief, archivists do not keep everything.

Whaaat? An archivist? Throwing things out?

Yep.

I spent more time learning the art of archival appraisal than any other skill while in grad school. And by appraisal, I mean deciding what to keep and what to toss — based on what items have enduring value.

But aren’t archivists the keepers of our shared history?

Yes, but…

Here is the undeniable reality: If historical societies kept every single item that landed on their doorstep….every cancelled check… every unidentified photograph… every duplicate map… there wouldn’t be any room left for new collections. And that won’t work in the long run, will it? Hardly.

One of my archival professors likes to use this memorable rhyme: When in doubt, throw it out.

Does that mean we should toss treasures willy nilly? No! It means if you can’t think of a good reason to keep it, then it needs to go. Sometimes that means go into the trash. Sometimes that means go somewhere else (your kids, for example).

Too Many Photos Leads to Overwhelm. Overwhelm Kills Motivation.

Are you feeling so overwhelmed by your photos that you can’t get started on your photo organizing project? You are not alone.

Here’s what Mary had to say last year when I offered photo organizing tips here at The Practical Archivist Blog:

Sally, this is great – super helpful! All of my photos are in drugstore envelopes, including the ones from my honeymoon…6 years ago. Even some of our wedding photos are still in boxes.

I have avoided the task because it truly never occurred to me that it was okay to throw away my family photographs.

With this new information in hand, the idea of putting together a photo album, etc. sounds like fun because I’ll actually *like* the finished product. Because I was NOT excited about putting together an album of indistinguishable landscapes, people standing in front of things, and people eating.

The Problem Gets Bigger Over Time

I’m a mom, so I understand how difficult it can be to part with sentimental treasures like baby pictures, finger paintings, pinch pots and teeny tiny little clothes. But if you refuse to make choices and instead keep everything, you’ll have an uncontrollable mess on your hands. A mess which will only get worse the longer you ignore it.

Harsh Truth: Your grandkids are not going to want all of your vacation slides. I learned this when my husband and I inherited several photo collections from loved ones who passed on. I was happy to keep photos of relatives having fun on vacation, but I certainly didn’t need their photos of the Eiffel Tower.

You can choose to leave them everything or you can make some careful selections now. If you leave it up to the next generation you’ve lost a wonderful opportunity to share your favorites.

Deciding What To Keep

Here are some helpful guidelines:

1. Respect Age.

In family collections, age and scarcity tend to go hand in hand. For example, the only known photograph of your great great aunt Rose? Or your grandparents’ wedding? Those are keepers. They are worth the investment of high quality archival photo storage boxes and folders. These are also the ones you should scan first.

2. People Pictures.

When my husband and I were rescuing photos from our grandparents’ magnetic albums, it became obvious that certain photos weren’t worth saving. Generally speaking, what we decided to keep was pictures of our grandparents and other family members. What we skipped was vacation snapshots of mountains and buildings, and unidentified people who were strangers to us. We gave as many as we could to other family members in the hopes that those “orphan photos” could be identified.

3. Sentimental Value.

One of the wonderful things about working with family photo collections (as opposed to working in a historical society) is that sentimental value reigns supreme. Future generations will want to have your favorites.

And if you take a few moments to write down why you love a particular photograph…well, now we’re talking about a real treasure.

Find The Keepers — Even If You Can’t Bear To Throw Anything Away

Sifting through your collection and selecting your most valuable photographs is important, even if you hold onto every last one. You’ll find it much easier to decide what to scan, for example. You’ll also know which photos should be removed from a sticky magnetic album and which ones can stay in that harsh environment.

You can even start flagging photographs for inclusion in your memoirs or family history book.

More on this topic:

• What to Keep? What to Toss?
• The Unclutterer and Photo Scanning Mills
• Kitchen vs. Cellar: A Fine Wine Analogy

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