Around the is proud to announce the launching of a new database for the Lake Norman Magazine Photograph Collection!
The E. H. Little Library has collected and microfilmed several local publications recognizing their value in documenting the history of the region. One of the publication is the Lake Norman Magazine which began in 1983.
Between 2007 and 2009, the College Archives received 24 boxes of photographs and negatives from the Lake Norman Magazine. The over 4200 photos date from 1989 to 2004 and provide a rich visual account of people, places and events around the lake.
Getting all the photographs cataloged and getting the database online took several years and several staff. Of particular note, Tom, one of our regular volunteers, spent months organizing the photos, typing in cataloging data and matching images to articles. Thanks to the students who spent hours getting the photos in sleeves and in albums.
The photos have been reorganized into albums for easier viewing
Most of the photographs appeared in the magazine– which adds to the context and information about the images– but might also lead to the question “Why keep the prints if they are already on microfilm?”
One of the images from the Lake Norman Magazine Collection documenting some of the more unusual vessels on the lake
Our answer is that reproducing images from microfilm doesn’t work well. The microfilm and photograph collection complement one another. The next question may be “Are they all digitized and online?” At this point, neither the microfilm or images have been digitized –it’s an expensive undertaking and there are copyright concerns since multiple photographers–some employees of the magazine and some not–created the images. Even if they can not all be republished, the photographs are useful research tools and welcome additions to the archives.
Davidson alumnus Jeff Lowrance was featured in a 2001 article on slave cemeteries.
One added benefit is that the photo database provides a partial index to the magazine, important since most local publications are not indexed–even on Google! We invite you to explore the database and to come to the archives to view the collection (now in 16 albums in boxes).
Photographs of businesses can provide economic historians with data about changes in local employment and consumer options.
