| Communications and Development |  |
Published by Communications and Development
Thousands of historic photographs from the University of Canterbury Library's archival collections are now available online via digital library.
Users can browse this fantastic collection which covers a period of more than 100 years, via the Library's UC Unique Resources page.
Library IT and archival staff have been developing the online database over the past two years, giving digitalisation priority to parts of the collection that were regularly used by researchers.
The collections currently available include the AC Graham collection of West Coast photographs dating from the 1880s, a photographic collection recording more than 100 years of the history of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company and Pacific photographs gathered by John Macmillan Brown in the early 20th century.
University Library Archivist Jeff Palmer said it was exciting to see the photographic image database go live.
“The main reason we developed this online database was accessibility. The collection has been under-utilised because, until now, many of the photographs have only been available in the Macmillan Brown Library's reading room, and also because not many people know about the collection,” he said.
“Institutions around the world are putting their collections online and users now expect that service so it's incredibly important that we take advantage of this wave of digitalisation and make it easier for people to access our collection.”
The Library has more than 40,000 photographs in its archives. The images not only record the University's history but also document Canterbury's social and economic past and feature a unique collection of historic photographs of the Pacific.
Mr Palmer said the current collections available online were “just the beginning” and many thousands of additional images will be available via the digital library as soon as the hard-copy prints have been digitised.
For further information please contact:
Jeff Palmer
University Library Archivist
Macmillan Brown Library
Phone: (64) 3 364-2987 ext 8663
Or email: macbrown@libr.canterbury.ac.nz