Voices TV: Featuring the Library of Congress’ Flickr Strategy

[TRANSCRIPT]

Welcome to Voices of the Past. I’m Jeff Guin.

We’ll have that interview in a moment, but first here’s an update from our website.

One of the most effective ways to promote heritage sites and activities is through photography. We all treasure old photographs as windows to another time. Today, the web offers several methods for sharing images that can help you convey a sense of place … in a social way.

Right now on the Voices of the Past website, you can find an overview on getting started with Flickr, the web’s most popular site dedicated to photosharing. Whether you’re looking to start your own Flickr stream, or engage with someone else’s historic photos, we’ll give you the links and resources to begin.

The Library of Congress is one organization that’s used Flickr effectively for historic photos. In fact, it was one of the first — and most successful — social media partnerships by a U.S. federal agency. I was fortunate to visit the Library of Congress and speak with Michelle Springer and Helena Zinkham, who headed up this project. And here’s a little of their fascinating story about how we all benefit when government engages in the spirit of openness.

[interview]

And we’d like to thank Michelle and Helena for taking the time to visit with us. It was thrilling for me personally to tour the Library of Congress and meet so many good people who are working to preserve our heritage. Now, we have that full interview on the Voices of the Past audio podcast. You can find that on our website, along with a full transcript.

Voices of the Past is starting its own Flickr project — and we’re hoping you’ll be a part of it. All you have to do is share photos from your favorite heritage site or project at the Voices of the Past Group page on Flickr. Just add a description about why the subject of your photo is important to you, and we might pick it as our background image for a future netcast. If you like, we’ll share your story as well.

Thanks so much for joining us for this edition of the Voices of the Past netcast. Until next time, we’ll see you online!

Additional Flickr-related podcast: Picturing preservation tech online with Cultural Heritage Imaging

(Background image “Under the Ancient Skies” by Trey Ratcliff)