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Summit of Mt. Jees 2008 |
I have enjoyed Malabar Farm my entire life. The home of agriculturalist and environmentalist Louis Bromfield is a short fifteen-minute drive from my house, and it has been a favorite destination for me and my children. My parents would take me to visit as a child. Now, I take my kids to see the farm animals and climb on the tractors. A visit is never complete without a climb to the top of Mount Jees to overlook the innovative farm of Pulitzer Prize winner Bromfield. I own several of his first-edition books, and my husband and I like to frequent the Malabar Farm Inn that is now a restaurant featuring fresh local ingredients.
Purpose
I thought the Library of Congress would have pictures of Bromfield and his farm, which was the setting of the famous Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart wedding. I was hoping to find historic photos of the house, the inn, personal portraits, or Bacall/Bogart wedding pictures.
Strategy
I put Louis Bromfield in the search box. I found one result for a collection in LOOK magazine, but the collection was not digitized. This was not looking promising. I hyperlinked the subjects on the surrogate record of the LOOK collection, but this was to no avail. Since this was proving challenging, I thought I should go back and read more about Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC).
The website states: The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.
This description would indicate I was searching the type of materials PPOC would provide. I decided to research search strategies. I went to Search by Subjects. Under the letter B, I found three entries for Bromfield. Only one of those entries had pictures. There were three pictures, with two portraits from 1933 and a book jacket of American Guide Book from 1943, which featured an endorsement quote by Bromfield. I wanted more. I continued by subject searching Malabar Farm. There were no results. I searched Lauren Bacall, but there were no personal photos. Furthermore, I realized many photos were part of collections not yet digitized. At this point, I realized I was going to have to do a broader type of search. I needed to do a PPOC take 2.
PPOC TAKE 2
I was thinking about what items PPOC would see, and I thought many materials are going to be about historical events. I searched Pearl Harbor, and there were hundreds of results; it was the same with Lusitania. However, these events hold little personal significance. What historical event has defined my life and generation the most? Unequivocally, it has been September 11, 2001.
Purpose
September 11, 2001 affected a whole world as it transpired across the country on that sunny Tuesday morning. The pictures that interest me the most are those of the landscape and people of Manhattan. I have been to Ground Zero three times in the years since the attack. Each visit, the terrain is more unrecognizable from the day that changed America.
Strategy
These are the search terms I used and hyperlinked to the results?
- September 11
- Twin Towers
- Twin Towers September 11
- World Trade Center
- 9/11
- 9/11 Twin Towers
- 9/11 World Trade Center
- Ground Zero
I chose these search terms with no definite strategy. The photo results were a variety of illustrations, landscapes, and people. I knew I could narrow or broaden, but none of the searches turned up too many photos to hinder navigation. There was considerable overlap in results, so it seemed useless to continue typing in combine terms to find new photos. I was satisfied with the results after these searches.
Critical Analsyis: Success and Satisfaction?
My experience in PPOC was mixed. The one search yielded unsuccessful results while the other yielded a variety of photos and illustrations that matched my purpose. It is critical to understand the nature of this collection and what it is likely to hold. At least in my experience, the more obscure, local materials are less likely to be found. However, the more national events are widely covered.
It is important to note that the collection contains photos and surrogate records for those photos. Many pictures have not be digitized, and all that is available is the surrogate record. The record may help a user redefine a search because there are hyperlinked subjects that the user can click to find more photos. If someone is searching for pictures that would fall under the Fair Use Policy, it seems that a search of images in a search engine, like Bing or Google, would yield quicker results.
The photo results are worthwhile. I appreciate the illustrations and variety. This tool could be used within a teaching/classroom context. I envision students finding photos for projects, and teachers using them to create and illustrate lessons. This site should also be bookmarked by all reference librarians. Personally, I do not see why I would need this site again. Professionally, it is worth understanding and utilizing.
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