Wakefield Museum is over 80 years old and houses photographs, natural history and artefacts dating back hundreds of years. In the late nineties, an initiative was borne to provide links with this past and further bring history to life. The original concept was to put the life back into the community, by providing the growing generations with a knowledge of life as it used to be via snapshots of digital images; utilising the computer medium, as a tool to understand the complexities and simplicities of life in generations past, through viewing digitised photographs of the local area.

A successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund allowed for refurbishment of Wakefield Museum. Christine Johnstone, the Senior Keeper and the Keeper of Social History, supervised the entire project, which included digitisation of the complete collection of photographic images, then residing in countless cardboard boxes in the museum’s store.

In March 2000, Wakefield launched its’ new Image Access Service to the public, incorporating House of Images’ Collections Management and Public Access software. The history of Wakefield’s development from the 19^th century to the present day was illustrated by approximately 10,000 images, captured in Wakefield Museum’s Collection Access System.

The original items consisted of every form of photographic material e.g. black and white prints, black and white glass-lantern slides, colour pictures etc. ranging from 2.25cm x 4.0 cm to A2 in size. It was understandably difficult to allow for the general public to view these, without supervision. Previous to HLF funding, viewing a specified image involved making an appointment with the curator. The curator would then manually search through numerous boxes of photographic material, prior to appointment. Further, if a printed copy were to be desired of the image(s) then an additional three weeks would be necessary to complete this single task.

This identical task now involves no staff involvement whatsoever, with the use of House of Images’ Public Access Terminal and coin-operated printer. The general public have instant access to the entire collection and are able to operate the print facility from the terminals.

The images have been grouped, for ease of access, both by subject and by geographical areas. Keyword lists were prepared and provided to HoI prior to completion of the digitisation work. These lists enable the public to explore the entire collection, of approximately 10,000 images, to find a single or batch of images within minutes of search initiation.

The amount of time saved, in comparison to manual searches, has been phenomenal. Also, the fact that there is no longer a three-week waiting period to obtaining a copy of the image for personal use, will have proved beneficial and additionally allowed for increased income.

Christine Johnstone comments: It’s amazing that this technology can replace a month’s work so easily. Also, the original prints will be able to retain their quality for longer… I’m glad that we have it to use at Wakefield.

The completely unforeseen and remarkable consequence, directly related to the installation of the House of Images’ Collection Access System, is that members of the public have approached the Museum to donate or loan their photographs to add to the existing collection. This result has both increased the historical data available and also confirmed the benefits of instalment, as the general public wish to become involved and share their experiences and knowledge.

The images narrate the social history and development of Wakefield and its’ people. The scenes, some over 150 years old, show the comparative changes in fashion, buildings, and lifestyles etc. to present day. The collection catalogues Wakefield’s police force, Royal visits, Weddings, aerial views, hospitals, shops, war-time experiences, houses, hobbies etc.

House of Images is an established supplier and leading provider of image-database and Collections Management Systems to Museums, local authorities and commercial organisations. HoI have provided the complete turnkey solution from digitisation of photographic material to software and hardware implementation. Wakefield Museum was one of the first organisations to be awarded HLF funding and also one of the first HLF funded projects for HoI. The success story at Wakefield Museum has been re-enacted at numerous museums in locations across the UK. House of Images are proud to be associated with the success at Wakefield Museum.

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