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Links: Library Of Birmingham Web Site

mikejee said:
I noticed that Shoothill ,in 2018on their Facebook account, was promoting the Birmingham library Shoothill site, so made a comment, which Shoothill has replied to. Not that it says anything
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It didn't make sense to farm it out to somebody else. They should have a person in-house uploading stuff to their own website - a much cheaper way to put their material online. I approached them years ago with a view to doing this for them but I was regarded as some sort of plank incapable of doing the work!
 
I'm just wondering where the images are?
Does the library have them as digital files on a server somewhere, or are the actual photos stored in an archive somewhere?
 
They look like archived photos Phil. Many have the handwritten details on them. I’d always believed the original photos were held by Birmingham Library. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
They look like archived photos Phil. Many have the handwritten details on them. I’d always believed the original photos were held by Birmingham Library. Viv.
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Viv, I suppose re-scanning them to create digital files would be a big task. It is a pity they did not do something like the library below. Neat, simple, available, and easy to use ... 80,000 images.
https://images.manchester.gov.uk/
 
As I notice there are no comments on the Brumpic photos by Phyllis Nicklin, I have to ask what is the difference between those and the Shoothill ones?
 
terrible the way we have lost the shoothill photos..does not surprise me though...i stand to be corrected but i think it cost 1 million pounds to set up the library web site..once again a let down for us brummies

lyn
 
The problem now is that the libraries employ very few cataloguers nowadays. ISBNs are now issued sometimes two years before books are even written, and, of course, in a very few cases a book may never get written and many are delayed for various reasons. So the only cataloguers that need to be employed are for exclusively local books. All else is controlled by the British Library. So without the qualified staff, things like photographs tend to get put aside forever. Birmingham has dragged its feet over photographs for many many years. Yes, there used to be an old card index which was no use to people online. But Oxford, for instance, had over 30,000 local photographs properly indexed way back in the early 1990s. With the dreadful state of staffing at the Library of Birmingham, I'm not holding my breath because it appears that there are no funds for anything at the moment.

Maurice :cool:
 
if only birmingham had done a lot of things other cities have done mike..so much for forward thinking...just looking at that link you posted reminded me that before our new library was built there was a whole line of cabinets containing thousands of index cards in the previous library giving us the names/locations of photographs that the library held..all we had to do was write out the ref no hand it over and a member of staff would go and retrieve the photos you wanted to see while you waited..when i first visited the new library i asked where the cabinets were..reply was oh we dont have the space to put them anywhere now...so they sit out of view of the public never to be seen again...i find it disgraceful that including the website this library cost in excess £200 million to build yet they cant find the space for a few cabinets and as we now know they have taken down the shoothill website. coupled with the fact that they halved the staff and weekly opening hours and only open every 4th sat making it so difficult for those working to visit the archives section..yet another white elephant..:mad:

lyn
 
Correct, Lyn, I well remember the photo card index - so people now have no access to photographs? That's an absolute disgrace considering the vast amount of money that was borrowed and spent. Oxford Libraries had a digitised library of 30,000 photographs online before I moved to Crete in 2005, and I recently came across a small Welsh town, more of an overgrown village, whose library had put hundreds of photographs online. There's simply no excuse.

Maurice :cool:
 
I speak as a Chartered Librarian with 40 years experience with Birmingham Library Services. I remember being sent on a course, must be 30 years ago!, on digitalising library photographic collections and coming back all enthusiastic. Sadly the powers that be and the Local Studies Dept. didn't share my interest & enthusiasm and nothing happened. This was a time when funding streams such as Heritage Lottery were becoming available. It was a time when other library authorities were digitalising their photographic collections and putting them on line. Birmingham sadly has missed the boat!

As Maurice said, There's simply no excuse".
 
sospiri said:
Correct, Lyn, I well remember the photo card index - so people now have no access to photographs? That's an absolute disgrace considering the vast amount of money that was borrowed and spent. Oxford Libraries had a digitised library of 30,000 photographs online before I moved to Crete in 2005, and I recently came across a small Welsh town, more of an overgrown village, whose library had put hundreds of photographs online. There's simply no excuse.

Maurice :cool:
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no excuse at all maurice...the people of birmingham were promised so much from the new library but instead all we got was what i can only say was what meant to be a show stopper for incoming visitors in other words we were sold down the river...

lyn
 
There are many problems with digitising photographs and Birmingham library will have more than most. A lot of people have given their collection of photographs to the library but, in many cases, they don't own copyrights. For example, a community organisation might have a lot of old photographs taken by their members of organisation events. They could also have copies of pictures taken for particular newspapers and cuttings from the same papers. If the group folds up or simply doesn't have the space anymore, they give the whole lot to the library. The library can't digitise the pictures because they don't own copyright. They also have to rely on whatever index they were given with the pictures. So if you go to the library wanting to see a particular picture you have to know where it is or rely on whatever index there might be out there.
As I remember it the old card indexes led to pictures in various albums that were themed collections. You might try asking the counter staff about that at some time. If they've kept the albums you might be able to work it out from there.
 
i thought i may make a long awaited trip to the archives soon but i wrongly thought i could just walk in obviously in line with covid social distancing...reading this info on their website i think i will wait until next year when i can hopefully just walk in as i usually go with a friend which is not allowed at the min so this is just a heads up for others members

lyn

Archives and collections | Library of Birmingham opening hours | Birmingham City Council

Opening times for the Library of Birmingham, including the Wolfson Centre for archival research
www.birmingham.gov.uk www.birmingham.gov.uk
 
I seem to remember that being told that only a small proportion of items in the library had been catalogued and staff were hoping that when the move was made to the new site they would would be able to go through all those items in store. I don't think anyone actually knew exactly what they'd got. Then came the cutbacks and staff numbers and hours have been whittled down.

Unless the system has changed, in the Wolfson Centre, you have to go to find out what you want (if it's been catalogued) and order it and then go back. My main frustration is the same in Sutton Library - I don't know what there is to want!
 
hi pen cast your mind back not too many years ago to when we used the 2nd library...we could go straight in order up at the desk the material we wanted to see and a lovely member of staff would go and get it for you...no appointments needed..

as you said with this new library and before covid we had to go up order the material we wanted and make an appointment at a later date to go and view said material..

i get the problem with covid i really do but as i have said for years now this library is not fit for purpose as far as the general public is concerned..no doubt will will see yet more cutbacks in staff and opening hours soon..i feel sorry for those who work during the week and can only go on saturdays which for years has stood at 1 saturday in every month...i predicted on this forum before a slab was laid that this library would be a white elephant built only to attract visitors to the city and in this case i am sorry to say that i was right

lyn
 
I understand the need for appointments with Covid social distancing.
I am waiting to go but would not only need to make an appointment and preorder what I want but by now my CARN ticket has also expired so that will need renewing. You can't renew online.
Don't get me started on those sliding book shelves - last time I spent more time waiting to move shelves to pop stuff back than I did using material.
As Pen says - if you don't know it is there, how can you know you want to see it?
When that library opened they were asking for volunteers to help - when I enquired I was told the unions weren't happy as it might take people's jobs - no volunteers but jobs have gone anyway.
Moan over.
 
pjmburns said:
I understand the need for appointments with Covid social distancing.
I am waiting to go but would not only need to make an appointment and preorder what I want but by now my CARN ticket has also expired so that will need renewing. You can't renew online.
Don't get me started on those sliding book shelves - last time I spent more time waiting to move shelves to pop stuff back than I did using material.
As Pen says - if you don't know it is there, how can you know you want to see it?
When that library opened they were asking for volunteers to help - when I enquired I was told the unions weren't happy as it might take people's jobs - no volunteers but jobs have gone anyway.
Moan over.
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and to make matters worse jan when the library opened they were asking for donations of books...no money left in the coffers i also need to re new my CARN card and as you said that can only be done face to face with the correct ID show.. the massive cut in staff and opening hours not long after it opened proves it is not rocket science for anyone to now realise that this new library was never going to benefit the people of birmingham in the way a library should

lyn
 
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Some of the Birmingham Library Pictures collection (Old Shoothill Site) can now be viewed on
brumphotoarchive.co.uk
Cost involved to download.
 
Doesn't seem to be many -yet. Is the firm/ or the library selling photos which were originally donated for public use?
 
I looked at that earlier and you have to register. I assume it is free unless you actually want to download.
 
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The regular Birmingham Librairies email includes an ad for their new archive of photos at https://brumphotoarchive.co.uk/ . It is billed as an "unique collection of over 8500 photographs documents the growth and development of Birmingham, its suburbs and surrounding area since the 17th Century". Unlike previous archives the images are for sale with proceeds going to the library and the council.
This does not include the previous archives available at http://www.birminghamimages.org.uk/

(if there's an existing thread that this should be on please move it)
 
Two said:
Some of the Birmingham Library Pictures collection (Old Shoothill Site) can now be viewed on
brumphotoarchive.co.uk
Cost involved to download.
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I looked at the website given in the link and in my opinion it confirms that Shoothill's deep zoom display and search methods were far superior.
:)
 
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