Peel’s Prairie Provinces: University of Alberta Library, a Division of Learning Services

About the Collection

The Magee Photograph Collection consists mainly of photographic negatives, stereoscope cards, and various size prints produced by photographers Thomas B. Magee (1862-1930) and Henry L. Magee (1896-1966) of Browning, Montana. The collection was acquired by the University of Alberta in 2007 from Donald L. Magee, the son of aforementioned Henry L. Magee. A selection of 1,000+ negatives and stereoscope cards have been digitized and described through a partnership with the University of Lethbridge. The original materials are now permanently kept at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.

A detailed explanation of the digitization and description process, as well as brief biographies of the Magee family, can be found on the University of Lethbridge Library's Magee Collection project site.

Metadata

Each digital image is accompanied by metadata, which not only describes the item, but aids in overall searching and browsing of the collection.

The metadata created by the University of Lethbridge uses the Dublin Core Metadata Standard maintained by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). Subject terms are from a version of the Library of Congress Subject Headings devised by the Glenbow Museum & Archives.

For purposes of interoperability with our existing collections, the metadata was converted so that it follows the Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS) maintained by the Library of Congress. Content of the metadata records was changed only slightly, and then only in cases where it was desirable in order to aid interoperability.

The image below is an example of some of the metadata for a digitized images from the Magee Photograph Collection.

< titleInfo>

<title>Happy Tourists Exploring the Glacier</title>

</ titleInfo>

<name type="corporate">

<namePart>University of Lethbridge</namePart>

<role>

<roleTerm type="text">digitizing institution</roleTerm>

</role>

</name>

<name type="personal">

<namePart>Thomas B. Magee, 1862-1930</namePart>

<role>

<roleTerm type="text">photographer</roleTerm>

</role>

</name>

<originInfo>

<publisher>N. A. Forsyth (Butte, Mont.)</publisher>

<dateCaptured>2007-07-10</dateCaptured>

</originInfo>

<language>

<languageTerm authority="iso639-2b" type="code">eng</languageTerm>

</ language>

<note type="public_description">A stereoscope card showing a group of five women and four men crossing a glacier, using a guide rope for safety.</note>

The main metadata elements are:

Title

A brief caption for the image. Example: Happy Tourists Exploring the Glacier; Dioramas 1941 – 2

Names

Name(s) of the member(s) of the Magee family who took the original photograph, as well as University of Lethbridge as the digitizing institution. Example: Thomas B. Magee, 1862-1930; Henry L. Magee, 1896-1966

Dates

Date(s) the original photograph was taken as well as the date the image was digitized. Example: 1941; 2007-07-23

Physical Description

Dimensions of the original (in mm). Example: 61mm x 61mm; 69mm x 117mm

Description

A brief textual explanation of what is depicted in the image. Example: A Blackfeet girl wearing a feathered headdress and beaded dress, standing next to an animal skull and a tipi; A stereoscope card showing a crowd of people gathered around the pole of a Sun Lodge

Subjects

Places and topics depicted in the image. Example: Montana; Siksika

Future Metadata Directions

Addition of descriptive titles to images that currently do not have them and some additional minor metadata revisions will be done in the near future.

For More Information

If you have questions, feedback or additional information about any of the items in the collection, please contact us.

A special thanks to the University of Lethbridge Library for their significant contributions in digitizing this important prairie collection.