“Picturing Golda Meir”

This collection is hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee digital archives. It contains a total of 157 images that document the life of Golda Meir, a graduate of that university, former Prime Minister of Israel, and the individual for whom the UWM library is named. The images are presented in a four phase online collection organized chronologically.

The images were selected out of the entire physical collection, but there is no specification given as to how these were selected. It is possible that the digital images encompass the entirety of the photographs contained in the archives, but this is not explicitly stated.

This digital collection serves as an example for more advanced metadata practices, since both the digitization processes, and personnel involved are documented in the collection description. Additionally, there is an explicit statement that describes the terms and conditions under which these digital materials may be used (including “fair use,” teaching, and others). The collection was created in 2004, and was recently updated.

The images cannot be removed from the web site, which may be an added proprietary feature. An example can be viewed here. Individual images also possess a good degree of metadata. This includes a distinction between the digital object, and the physical one in the collection. For example, the dates for the digital object, and the physical photograph are separate entries. There is also a link to the finding aid (though not the specific item within the finding aid).

According to the descriptive page, the images were scanned “using an Epson Perfection 2400 flatbed scanner” at 600 dpi. The site also says the images are stored as TIFF files in the UWM collection. Additionally, the collection was developed using a content management system with Dublin Core metadata.

The audience, as described in the terms of use section, includes educators, students, and those individuals interested in the collection for “personal use.”