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For three years, libraries around the state have displayed Delaware Public Archives photos in the hopes of identifying John Does. Library patrons have ID’d more than 1,900 people so far, a number the archives hopes will jump now that people can go online to search old photos for classmates, family members and friends.
The Hometown Delaware program is full of photos mostly from the 1930s to 1950s. A small group of the archives’ more than 800,000 pictures are at http://archives.delaware.gov, and categorized into the three counties for easy searching. When people recognize someone, they can click on a link to email the archives with the person’s name.
Lori Hatch, an information resource specialist at the archives, got her first helpful email in early September with information on a class of 1950 high school picture. Actually they had it labeled as class of ’51, so someone emailed Hatch to let her know that they had the wrong year, and to give her a number of names.
The online move is targeting a different demographic than the effort at libraries, according to Tom Summers, outreach services manager. The library tour started to reach people who might not have access to a computer or weren’t familiar with the Internet. Hatch said she hopes some younger visitors who have grown up online might help by identifying family members.
“’Oh that’s my grandfather in the picture,’ or ‘Oh that’s my uncle,’” she said.
Although the online move opens up the photo hunt, the library series was very successful in parts of the state. One of the hot spots was Milford, according to Hatch, where people got into it by telling friends to help and sometimes bringing in yearbooks to help them ID photos. It brought a lot of people together, Hatch said.
The program won’t leave libraries completely if patrons don’t want it to, according to Hatch. She’s gotten requests from historical societies to have an exhibit of photos, and she said the archives’ personnel will work with groups who would like some photos specific to an area. For now, though, they’re relying on the public go online and help them. There are still more than 500 people to identify, and that’s just in the first set of online photos.
“Really what we’re trying to do is build kind of a following of this,” Summers said.
The ultimate goal is to attach a name to everyone. Hatch said many people visit the Archives to do genealogy research, and it helps to put a face to the name.
To see the Hometown Delaware photos, visit http://archives.delaware.gov.
Email staff writer Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com.
For three years, libraries around the state have displayed Delaware Public Archives photos in the hopes of identifying John Does. Library patrons have ID’d more than 1,900 people so far, a number the archives hopes will jump now that people can go online to search old photos for classmates, family members and friends.
The Hometown Delaware program is full of photos mostly from the 1930s to 1950s. A small group of the archives’ more than 800,000 pictures are at http://archives.delaware.gov, and categorized into the three counties for easy searching. When people recognize someone, they can click on a link to email the archives with the person’s name.
Lori Hatch, an information resource specialist at the archives, got her first helpful email in early September with information on a class of 1950 high school picture. Actually they had it labeled as class of ’51, so someone emailed Hatch to let her know that they had the wrong year, and to give her a number of names.
The online move is targeting a different demographic than the effort at libraries, according to Tom Summers, outreach services manager. The library tour started to reach people who might not have access to a computer or weren’t familiar with the Internet. Hatch said she hopes some younger visitors who have grown up online might help by identifying family members.
“’Oh that’s my grandfather in the picture,’ or ‘Oh that’s my uncle,’” she said.
Although the online move opens up the photo hunt, the library series was very successful in parts of the state. One of the hot spots was Milford, according to Hatch, where people got into it by telling friends to help and sometimes bringing in yearbooks to help them ID photos. It brought a lot of people together, Hatch said.
The program won’t leave libraries completely if patrons don’t want it to, according to Hatch. She’s gotten requests from historical societies to have an exhibit of photos, and she said the archives’ personnel will work with groups who would like some photos specific to an area. For now, though, they’re relying on the public go online and help them. There are still more than 500 people to identify, and that’s just in the first set of online photos.
“Really what we’re trying to do is build kind of a following of this,” Summers said.
The ultimate goal is to attach a name to everyone. Hatch said many people visit the Archives to do genealogy research, and it helps to put a face to the name.
To see the Hometown Delaware photos, visit http://archives.delaware.gov.
Email staff writer Sarika Jagtiani at sarika.jagtiani@doverpost.com.
