Metadata - Weeks 25 & 26 21COFH

It's time to put an organizational framework with our digital photos and documents. Particularly those saved as images. The metadata (data about data) that are stored with our digital files can help make it easier to locate, use, and understand those files in the future.

This week and next, I challenge you to learn about metadata; the programs that can create, save, and manage metadata; and how you want to manage your metadata. I'm no expert on this subject but am reading and learning all the time.

Here are a few programs that can be of assistance:

• Google Picassa
• Adobe Photoshop Elements
• Adobe Lightroom

Can you recommend others?

Webinars I have found helpful:

• Organizing and Sharing Digital Images, presented 29 February 2012 at Legacy Family Tree (fee).
• Going Digital, presented by Josh Taylor is available free to members of the Illinois State Genealogical Society at their website.
• Dear Myrtle presented Labeling Digital Photos Workshop Webinar with DearMYRTLE, on 13 April 2011. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a link for it. So I'm not sure if it's still available.

Finally, Legacy Family Tree has Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: scanning, digitizing, editing, and preserving your photos coming up on Wednesday, 27 June. It's free if you attend live and will be on the website at no charge for several days following.

Once you are more comfortable, begin applying metadata to your photos and documents. It will make them easier to locate, organize, and manage for you and those who follow. Plus, your photograhs will have the information needed to identify the who, what, when and where that is so important to those looking at them in years to come.

© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum