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| Keene Public Library Enhancement Project |
The public
library in Keene New Hampshire has a long history. As early as the late 1700’s, Keene residents
worked to establish a library. Book
collections moved several times and finally settled in 1898 in its current
location, the stately brick Henry Colony mansion. Over the years the library has undergone several
remodeling’s and expansions and currently a major expansion is underway. In addition to improvements in the existing
library, a connector is being built to link the library to the adjacent Library
Annex- the site of Heberton Hall.
The
Time Capsule
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| Time Capsule Space |
As part of
the project, a time capsule will be placed in the wall between the current main
library desk and the new construction. The capsule will hold artifacts rom our time
and place and will be opened in fifty years. I was honored to be asked to
contribute pictures from our region to the collection. Fifty years, I wonder what Keene will be
like? My children will be in their
80s. Hopefully they would have found a
way to save the environment, but if not, perhaps some pictures of trees will be
appreciated.
Collection
and Preservation
The people involved with collecting material
for the time capsule requested that I submit a few prints and then assemble a much
larger collection of regional images to be recorded on a DVD. The survival of electronic media will be
questionable. The biggest issue is
whether people in 2070 will have equipment that can read a DVD, and translate
ancient JPG or Tiff file formats. 
We can
only hope that an old DVD player will be available somewhere on whatever
replaces eBay. DVD disks have a finite
life-span, but we will be using archival disks which are predicted to last for
decades, especially when left untouched.
We can only hope. Perhaps our
future viewers will learn most about the sadly inadequate technology of the
early 21st century. That is where the prints may be most important. 
Using
archival ink and acid free paper, the giclee prints should stand up reasonably
well in a dark box for 80 years or more.
I have old prints that have lasted for more than 150 years, but I will
only be able to squeeze a few prints in the small box.
Choosing
How did I
choose which images to include in my collections? I was given broad discretion. I started with images from our region. I tried to think of what folks fifty years
from now might find interesting; identifiable locations and structures, events,
activities and occupations. Of course, I
am primarily a landscape photographer, images showing the natural attractions
of the region had to be shown. I can
only hope that, when the box is opened, the beauty will not seem part of a lost
era. 
For the
digital images, the task of selection was not difficult. I can fit several thousand medium sized JPGs
on a DVD. I used my standard web format,
with a maximum dimension of 950 pixels and file size around 400kb. The images are organized into separate files
for each season and include over 2000 pictures.
Selecting
images for the physical prints will be an impossible task. Perhaps 5-6, 8 x 10 prints. I’ll start with an image from each season,
but then what? Perhaps I’ll include a picture
of my good old dog Nelly and my house from across the apple orchard. Who know?
You’ll have to wait 50 years to find out.
I was excited to be asked to contribute to the library time capsule. For a project such as this, the choices that
we make, teach us more about our own time and place.
I enjoyed the process of selecting images with future generations in mind,
and arriving at the best solutions for optimal archival storage was an
interesting challenge. Finally, given
the fragility of electronic media, I realize that, in fifty years, the contents
of the capsule may be the only existing substantial collection of my work. Now I must start on another time capsule to
preserve next year’s images.
Jeff
Newcomer
www.partridgebrookreflections.com
www.partridgebrookreflections.com
