A Picture is Worth...

I was reminded this week of how one aspect of my job has changed over the years. I'm producing a report about Curtis Prairie at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in Madison to commemorate their 75th anniversary. The report starts with a bit of history so I'm planning to show some photos from that time period.

In 1997 I produced a program that touched on this same period of history. At that time the photo search involved a walk over to the Wisconsin Historical Society and hours and hours of white-gloved searching through boxes of photo prints. Today, much of this collection is available on-line and can be searched by hitting a few buttons on a computer keyboard.

With this type of search mission the most important job skill is coming up with search terms that reveal the best images. And there's a rub. I've been searching on-line for a photo I saw 12 years ago but just can't find it. It makes me value even more the work done by professional archivists.