| 10/18/2003 7:53:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Library to display Lemen photos on Web site
By: Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer
Historic photographs taken by prolific Madison photographer Harry Lemen will go on line today. The photos are on the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library’s Web site, www.madison-jeffco.lib.in.us.
The photographs document Madison, Jefferson County and other locations in Indiana through the mid-20th century. The library purchased Lemen’s collection after his death.
Lemen, who was born in Canaan, started out as a lawyer, but became a real estate agent for more than 30 years and was an amateur photographer.
The collection, which has more than 2,000 photographs, includes pictures taken by other photographers showing earlier days of Madison. Lemen reproduced some of the photographs and made postcards and framed pictures.
Some of the pictures were taken by Lemen’s son, Hiram, but they were not individually identified, so all of the Lemen pictures in the collection are credited to Harry Lemen, the library said.
In addition to the collection, the library also received Lemen’s camera, an Eastman-Kodak Brownie Camera No. 2C model A. The camera used Kodak No. 130 film, which made negatives that were 5 inches wide and 3 inches tall. Because this type of camera had a limited depth of field, one part of the picture is in focus and the rest is blurred.
Lemen’s later photos probably were taken with a newer version of the Brownie camera, judging from the negative size, said library assistant Jerry Yarnetsky. Pictures taken with this camera had more depth of field and better contrast, he said.
The Friends of the Library provided a grant to help the library staff buy a two-year subscription to ContentDM software and a scanner for importing the images onto the Web site.
The Web site and its contents are copyrighted by the library. Permission to reproduce images for other than private use must be obtained from the library director. To request permission, contact the library director by mail, 420 W. Main St., Madison, IN 47250; by telephone, (812) 265-2744; or by e-mail, director@madison-jeffco.lib.in.us.
For answers to questions about the collection or the archiving project, which is seeking volunteers to do research and, if they have experience, to scan photos, call the library or send an e-mail to adults@madison-jeffco.lib.in.us.
“One of the needs identified by the community committee was for the library to continue and strengthen our local history and genealogy services,” said library director Charlene Abel, referring to the committee that crafted a long-range library plan that was unveiled this week. “One of the best ways we saw to do this was to embrace digital access to this large collection of Harry Lemen’s photos.”
Along with the photographs are written explanations about the pictures. “The descriptions below the photos are mini-history lessons about our community,” Abel said.
“We’d like to see the photos used in our county’s classrooms and would like to work with teachers in creating lesson plans to take advantage of this resource,” she said.
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