Preservation Detroit is an organization dedicated to historic preservation in Detroit. It has a collection of over 200 books on local history and architecture in its library. Previously, access to these books was only by appointment, as there was no catalog or way for potential users to know what books were available. Preservation Detroit decided to catalog its book collection on Flickr to make it more accessible. Flickr was chosen because it is simple to use and maintain for volunteers compared to other options like Omeka or Viewshare that require more technical skills.

1. Preservation Detroit, the city’s oldest and largest historic preservation group, has a collection of
more than 200 books about local history, architecture, and preservation in its library, but had no
efficient way to connect them to potential users. In the past, access to the books has been by
appointment only, with potential users having no way to know what books are in the collection
other than by consultation with the librarian. This meant that although Preservation Detroit’s
local history and local architecture collection was one of the best in the Metro Detroit area, it
was used almost exclusively by staff and interns.
As the group sought to serve its members and the community more effectively, it was determined
that new social media tools might provide an opportunity to open up access to the books. After
researching various options such as Omeka, WordPress (the platform for the organization’s
website), and the Library of Congress’s new Viewshare collection tool, the group’s volunteer
librarian concluded that Flickr provided the simplest, most volunteer-friendly, lowest
maintenance way to experiment with increased access to the book collection.
Although alternatives such as Omeka and Viewshare provide more robust ways of cataloging and
describing a variety of information objects, such as books, images, or artifacts, they are more
complex to the casual user than Flickr. They require a larger time investment to learn the
software, and a deeper understanding of web technology and library cataloging practices to get
the most from them. Viewshare, in particular, takes more time to learn to use its non-intuitive
interface. Working with WordPress as a simple website platform is straightforward, but using it
to present a collection in a way that would be easily searchable is a greater challenge, one which
requires some basic programming ability. Any of these alternatives could work well in an
organization that has an in-house technology staff, or committed, long-term volunteers who are
tech savvy.
Preservation Detroit is an all volunteer organization, with no technology department or staffers, and
core volunteers with widely varying technology expertise and information literacy. Additionally,
because many of the volunteers and interns are working on school-related projects, there is a
high percentage of turnover from semester to semester. Any system that Preservation Detroit
uses needs to be easy for novice users to pick up with a minimum of oversight.
Sharing information about the Preservation Detroit Flickr Project is intended to promote access to
library collections that may not be represented in an integrated library system or online catalog
via the use of the free resource Flickr. Some examples include local history collections, image
collections, or special groupings within collections, such as reader recommendation lists or book
group selections.
Invisible Books
Literature about the ways that public libraries are utilizing
Flickr is as diverse as the projects that libraries are
pursuing using this platform. Advantages include:
• Literature about projects similar to ours (cataloging
physical books in Flickr) is scarce
• Literature about libraries/museums using Flickr focuses on
its collaborative and Web 2.0 qualities
• Resources like Flickr allow individuals with limited
knowledge of web development to make simple but
professional-looking sites. It also allows for more
collaboration.
• Flickr is a no cost or low cost way to host image-based
information
• The easy to use and intuitive platform makes Flickr a
useful platform for libraries, museums, and individuals to
share, tag, and discuss image-based items of cultural and
historical importance (Terras, 2011, p.689).
Background Research and Existing Projects
Volunteers from Wayne State
University’s School of
Library and Information
Science entering descriptive
information into Flickr.
But Does It Really Work?
The methods used for creating Preservation Detroit’s public Flickr collection were simple and could
be easily duplicated to catalog any collection of standard or nonstandard items.
 The volunteer librarian at Preservation Detroit created a free Flickr account for the
organization’s use.
 Instead of using pre-existing digital cover images of books in the Preservation Detroit collection
(from public domain image sites), digital photographs of each book cover were taken, uploaded
onto a Mac computer, and refined and sharpened using photo editing software.
 The book cover photos were uploaded onto the Preservation Detroit Flickr page for cataloging,
using guidelines represented in RDA, such as creator and contributor, which better suits the
cataloging needs of non-standard or special collections.
 Fields were primarily drawn from Dublin Core, which is easy to share across different systems.
The fields listed for each book include the creator, contributor, publication date, ISBN,
description, subjects and LOC call number. These fields were chosen to give the viewers an
indication of what they may find in each book, as well as create access points to the items by
including the more commonly searched fields, such as creator and contributor. The catalogers
also added tags whenever possible to make access to each item that more attainable.
 Once the images were loaded onto Flickr, each book took about ten to fifteen minutes to catalog.
Wayne State’s catalog was used to identify LOC Call Number and possible subject headings as
well as OCLC Worldcat. Where possible, LOC subjects headings were used, but non-LOC
headings were created when necessary. Amazon was also used to help with fields such as ISBN
and description, when they were not provided elsewhere.
Do It Yourself
 Although the initial process of loading images to Flickr and creating the catalog records is
going smoothly, it is too early to tell if it will result in increased use of the book collections.
There is a clear need for an organization to publicize a new access portal through traditional
and social media to promote its use.
 Even volunteers who have never used Flickr before find it easy to work with.
 Best practice in selecting terms for tagging, because it can be very individual, is to provide a
controlled vocabulary and examples.
 One of the best qualities of Flickr is its search functionality. Descriptions are full-text
searchable.
 A Flickr collection can be linked to a library’s website, or a slideshow from it can be
embedded in a website.
 As the project has progressed, there have been occasional questions about copyright and how
it applies to using book cover images on Flickr. Extensive research was done at the
beginning of the project. Although copyright determinations are rarely black and white, and
the borders of copyright on the web are rapidly evolving, use of book cover images appears
to be in compliance with all recent relevant trends in copyright case law.
1. We are using digital images that we took ourselves that are low resolution,
thumbnail-type images.
2. The use of book cover images or thumbnail- type depictions of information objects
falls well within fair use guidelines.
Flickr: Brooklyn Museum's Photostream. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklyn_museum/
Flickr: New York Public Library's Photostream. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/nypl/
Flickr: Powerhouse Museum Collection's Photostream. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/
Flickr: Preservation Detroit Library & Archives - Research Library Books. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78805081@N08/sets/72157630308011040/
Flickr: Smithsonian Institution's Photostream. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/
Flickr: The Library of Congress' Photostream. (n.d.). Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/
Forsyth, E. & Perry, L. (2010). Picturing your community: Flickr use in public libraries. Library Hi Tech News, 27(1), 6-9.
jtrant. (n.d.). Flickr: steve.museum. Flickr - Photo Sharing. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/groups/stevemuseum/
Preservation Detroit. (n.d.). Preservation Detroit. Retrieved from http://preservationdetroit.org/
Terras, M. (2011). The digital wunderkammer: Flickr as a platform for amateur cultural and heritage content. Library Trends, 59(4), 686-706.
Welcome to the Steve Project. (n.d.). Steve.Museum | Steve: The Museum Social Tagging Project. Retrieved from http://www.steve.museum/
Public libraries are already using Flickr for a variety of reasons. The two main uses are in
documenting events and promoting collections (Forsyth & Perry, 2010, p.6). Other uses include
library tours, providing photos for the press, social media campaigns, photography competitions,
sharing information with other professionals, exhibits, advertising library services, helping to build
community, and as a platform to display heritage images (Forsyth & Perry, 2010 p.6). One library
used Flickr to display images of its remodeling project. (Forsyth, 2010, p.6). Another used RSS
feeds to create a video wall in the library (Forsyth & Perry, 2010, p.6)
We believe it would also be an excellent resource for showcasing special collections that
had been donated to the library, which would not necessarily be entered in the ILS. Some examples
of opportunities to use Flickr might include:
 Donated materials such as postcards, photographs, or ‘zines
 Historical artifacts or object collections such as quilts or antique dolls
 Online gallery to document art exhibits within the library
 Document special events or book clubs
 Add an interactive component to a summer reading program
 Ask readers to contribute photos of themselves with their favorite books
Libraries can utilize Flickr in many creative ways. The possibilities are nearly limitless.
What Else Can A Library Do With Flickr?
Wayne State University
Erin Durrett, Julianne Novetsky and Lisa Phillips
Public Access: Using Flickr to Catalog Special Collections
References and Further Information
• The interface includes built in collection management functions. “Metadata” can be stored beside
images and searched by users (Terras, 2011, p. 696).
Online “museums” of this type are a small but growing presence (Terras, 2011, p. 699), and
many well known institutions are taking advantage of Flickr including: the Smithsonian, the Library
of Congress, the Powerhouse museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the New York Public Library.
These groups are releasing digital images copyright-free in a joint project known as the Commons on
Flickr (Terras, 2011, p. 700). Other institutions continue to join the project, or create their own Flickr
groups.
Public libraries are also increasingly using Flickr to build community engagement and to
provide access to collections and services (Forsyth, 2010, p.6). Libraries and museums should use
Flickr as a way to interact with their patrons and community; it should not be used only to provide
access to images (Forsyth, 2010, p.7).
Images documenting
neighborhoods and homes
that have been demolished,
from Preservation
Detroit’s Flickr
photostream.