The Family Album Archive Project

[atroncale]

     For those of you in the New York City metropolitan area...
     You are invited to come visit the
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     The Family Album Archive Project 
     at Family History Day
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     When:   Saturday, October 16, 1999, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
     Where:  Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
     Directions: See below
     Contact: Anthony Troncale at (212) 930-0821 for more information.
     
     Bring in your family albums and photographs to The Family Album 
     Archive Project, Saturday, October 16, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 
     the Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York. While there, 
     get free advice on how to preserve and store your albums and 
     photographs; Identify, date and interpret your photographs, and get 
     tips on how to do research into your family histories. Also, come see 
     how the latest in digital technologies can help you put your family 
     photos on the internet. 1st 100 visitors get 5 (five) free scans of 
     your photos for your home page!
     
     The following professionals have been recruited by FAAP to assist in 
     advising you on how to best preserve your family photo albums. The 
     FAAP wishes to express its thanks and gratitude for their contribution 
     to the event and to the Westchester County Records and Archives Center 
     for co-sponsoring the event.
     
     · Roger C. Watson, Assistant Director of Museum Studies, International 
     Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, will assist in 
     interpreting your albums and provide tips on researching your photos.
     
     · Myriam DeArteni, exhibitions conservator, Exhibitions Program 
     Office, The New York Public Library, will give advice on proper 
     storage and handling of your albums and photographs, and suggest minor 
     repairs to prevent further deterioration.
     
     · Janet F. Murray, Senior Archivist for Visual Materials, NYU/N-YHS 
     Mellon Project, New-York Historical Society, will also be on hand to 
     assist in preservation techniques, photographic identification and 
     photo-historical research.
     
     · Neil Larson, historian and author specializing in New York history, 
     will examine your albums to help evaluate and identify historically 
     important photographs in your albums.
     
     · Anthony Troncale, Associate Head, Digital Imaging Unit, The New York 
     Public Library, will show how scanners can digitally preserve the 
     content of family albums and photographic images for future 
     generations. 
     
     One of the principle objectives of the Family Album Archive Project is 
     to assist in the perpetuation of the family album for future 
     generations. To help educate the public about the possibilities of 
     using digital scanning technologies in preserving family albums, the 
     FAAP will scan up to 5 (five) photographs or family album pages for 
     FREE for the 1st 100 visitors who bring in their family albums. These 
     will be saved as internet-ready image files onto a floppy diskette, 
     which can them be taken home for viewing on a home computer, or 
     uploaded onto a WWW home page.
     
     Time and Technology Threatens the Demise of the Family Album
     
     The traditional family album is in danger of disappearing, and those 
     albums that do exist are in peril from deterioration. Many of the 
     albums manufactured to hold photographs from ca. 1880 to 1960 were 
     made of acidic papers, some even required the owner to paste in the 
     photographs with harmful glues. With the invention of the Polaroid 
     camera and the video cassette recorder, the acceleration of the demise 
     of the traditional family album has quickened. Also, when family 
     estates are dispersed, family albums are often left to be acquired by 
     antique dealers who then disseminate the contents, losing their 
     historical and genealogical value. Or worse, they are discarded 
     altogether.
     
     The FAAP was created in 1998 to offer their assistance in helping to 
     educate the public about the importance of preservation of the family 
     photograph album and to gather important photographs relevant to an 
     area's history and culture. If you would like to co-sponsor a Family 
     Album Archive Project Day in your area, call us at: (212) 463-7947 or 
     the web at: http://www.familyalbum.org
     The Family Album Archive Project, 140 Seventh Ave. #3C, NY, NY 10011.
     (212) 463-7947
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     Directions to the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY
     
     From New York City by train: Take the Metro-North Harlem line from 
     Grand Central to White Plains. You can walk from the station to the 
     County Center by going under the train tracks on Route 119 (Main St.) 
     which will then curve west. About a 10 minute walk. Taxis are also 
     available at the station.
     
     By car from New York City: Take West Side Highway north to Saw Mill 
     River Parkway to Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) eastbound. Exit 
     5, "Route 119 East-White Plains". County Center is 1/2 mile on the 
     left.
     
     From Tappan Zee Bridge and points West: Follow New York State Thruway 
     (I-87) to the Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) eastbound. Exit 5, 
     "Route 119 East-White Plains". County Center is 1/2 mile on the left.
     
     From Upstate New York: Take Taconic State Parkway to its southern end, 
     follow signs to Bronx River Parkway and follow three miles to White 
     Plains. Use Exit 22, The County Center is immediately on the right 
     side.
     
     The Family Album Archive Project is featured at Family History Day, 
     courtesy of Westchester County Executive, Andrew J. Spano; Westchester 
     County Clerk, Leonard N. Spano; the Westchester County Department of 
     Information Technologies, Division of Records & Archives; and the 
     Hudson Valley Bank. For more information, call (914) 592-1925 or visit 
     www.WestchesterGov.com/WCArchives.