While a picture is worth a thousand words, it is rarely feasible, or welcome, to use quite so many to describe a picture or group of pictures in a collection of visual materials that covers a wide range of content. This makes the summary note a key tool in any archivist or cataloger’s toolkit.
Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Graphics) (DCRM(G)) defines a summary note as “narrative, free-text statements of the scope and contents of groups. Details may include forms of materials, dates of subject coverage, and the most significant topics, persons, places, or events.”[^1] Crafting an effective and concise summary note is a critical component of providing access to collections of visual materials that are not comprehensively digitized or described at the item level. Accounting for the breadth and depth of subject matter in a collection, as well as the collection’s size, original order and anticipated use, helps you decide the scope of summary notes needed for a collection. A few prompting questions to consider are:
Do the original titles and folder headings sufficiently reflect and describe the contents?
Do the images have identifying information such as captions or would you need to interpret the images?
Is the content of the group of images homogenous or does the group of images reflect multiple themes?
Are there noteworthy anomalies in the group?
While resources such as the EAD tag library and DCRM(G) define what a summary note is and provide some general guidance, this article aims to provide practical steps for effective description. The degree of difficulty in drafting a summary note often depends on the quantity and variety in the group of images. For a handful of images, preparing a summary note can often be a straightforward task. Composing a summary for a large body of work can be challenging, but brevity is generally expected or accepted. However, writing concise summary notes for midsize groups of photographs (20-150 images) can be particularly difficult.
Before getting started, acknowledge that strong visual literacy, reading comprehension, communication, and critical thinking skills are necessary. As Helena Zinkham wrote, “awareness of your own, possibly false, assumptions is as important as spotting discrepancies between what a picture shows and what its caption says.”[^2] As you prepare to start writing, pay attention to the neighboring information whether it is in a finding aid, a catalog record, or related materials. A summary note exists in tandem with the other descriptive elements, not in isolation from them. Enhance and build upon information that appears in the title, author, or date fields rather than merely repeating it.
Once you start writing, use plain language and strive for a neutral and unified tone. This makes it easier for the public to read, understand, and use collections. Conducting keyword searches using plain language search terms can be helpful. Along those lines, while we all have our own unique voice that shines through in our writing, establishing and maintaining a unified tone ensures consistency and allows the reader to evaluate the content more evenly. Attention to tone also means a judicious use of adjectives. Be mindful of balancing the competing parameters of being concise while also shining a light on key details. Limiting the description to general subject terms results in fewer keywords. Following inclusive and respectful description guidelines is also essential.[^3]
Establishing a pattern, much like setting the tone, also ensures a more consistent reading experience. You may find it helpful to develop a formula such as:
Start every summary note with “Photographs show…”
Use the first sentence to provide an overview of the group OR to highlight a dominant theme in the group.
Group like items together and employ commas and semicolons to create easy-to-read lists while still maintaining a paragraph format.
Use transitions such as “Other images depict…”, “Additional photographs show…”, or “Pictures include…” to help guide the reader from topic to topic.
Mention the outliers and oddballs at the end of the paragraph to keep the focus on the dominant themes.
Call attention to particular topics by using such phrases as “Highlights include…”, “Predominant themes are…”
Here is a real-life example of a summary note for a group of 84 photographs. Most photographs had captions detailing the circumstances of each image, often exceeding 100 words.
Photographs show portraits of children and relief efforts by the American Red Cross in Montenegro after World War I. Images pertaining to clothing show children holding bundles of new clothing as well as children wearing gunnysacks, tablecloths, blankets, rags, and remnants of military uniforms, including an Austrian colonel's overcoat. Some photographs show adult and children patients at hospitals, including Muslim boys at a clinic. Other images related to health care show a child receiving a haircut, children receiving food rations, girls collecting water from the streets of Kolachin (Kolašin), and construction on the Junior Red Cross orphanage in Branilovitza. Photographs featuring American Red Cross workers show Lena Johnson with children she rescued from the streets of Cetinje, Louis Jaffe conducting a school census, Olivia Hamilton visiting families living in caves near Podgoritza (Podgorica), and Marjory Stoneman Douglas awarding a prize to a student. Students of the Junior Red Cross of American farm school of Branilovitza, the Government Agricultural School at Kouvydine, and a class in Tuzi are also represented. Other images show children playing, including Muslim girls playing hopscotch; children holding American flags and toys; a funeral procession; workers in a field; a woman and boy plowing a field with a donkey and ox; young men preparing for a driving lesson; and views of Cattaro (Kotor) and Lake Scutari.
Whether used in a finding aid or a catalog record, here is a systematic approach to help you write the first draft of your summary note. These steps assume that the original order will not be compromised by rearranging items within a folder heading.
Look only at the images and create a few thematic groups. Designate one group for the oddballs that do not easily fit into any category. For example, if the folder heading is “Transportation” group 1 might be railroads, group 2 might be cars, group 3 might be streetcars, and the oddball group might include a passenger ship, a team of oxen pulling a cart, and a portrait of a chauffeur.
If captions are present, work through one group at a time and read the captions to confirm that each photograph belongs in the group.
Jot down key facts, words, phrases, and observations for each group.
Review your groups and notes to check for redundancy, opportunity to combine, or further subdivide. For example, if Group A features portraits of doctors and Group B features portraits of nurses, consider combining them into a single group under the larger umbrella of “health care workers” or “portraits.” Conversely, if you have a single group that shows portraits of doctors and nurses and also depicts the daily lives of nurses, consider creating an additional category just for nurses since they are featured more extensively.
Once your groups are established, draft a sentence or two for each group.
Review the photographs, captions, and your notes to ensure you captured all the relevant information in your sentence.
Now, work to bring your sentences into a fluid cohesive paragraph, relying on the formula to ensure a consistent structure.
Re-read your paragraph to ensure it flows smoothly and to check for any typos. It can be helpful to read it aloud or have a colleague review the text.
Writing summary notes is time intensive, and there aren’t easy shortcuts, but we hope that sharing these tips can help you craft well-formed summary notes for midsized groups of photographs and other visual materials. For other examples of metadata summaries for pictures, many of which were created with limited resources or to fit initially on a 3x5 inch catalog card, please explore the Groups of Images section and the Look Collection section of the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog at the Library of Congress.
Notes
[1] DCRM(g): Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (graphics). RBMS. (2020, February 19). Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://rbms.info/dcrm/dcrmg/
[2] Zinkham, H. (2004, June). Visual literacy exercise. Library of Congress. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/tp/VisualLiteracyExercise.pdf
[3] For example, see Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia Anti-Racist Description Working Group. “Anti-Racist Description Resources.” Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia. October 2019. https://archivesforblacklives.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/ardr_final.pdf
Kristen Sosinski, Archivist, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Aliza Leventhal, Head of Technical Services, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Photographs taken by Kristen Sosinski
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