PROJECT BACKGROUND

In January 2004, Dowling College Library's Digitization Committee began work on Historic Oakdale, an online collection of images designed to document the history of the Oakdale area and to highlight materials from the Library's Special Collections. This project represents Dowling's participation in the Long Island Resources Council's Regional Digitization Program, otherwise known as Long Island Memories.

The images included in the project were taken from postcards and photographs ranging in age from the late 1800s to the middle of the 20th century. From the great estates to the local gas station, they are meant to capture a bygone era. Most of the material digitized for the project was drawn from the Library's Special Collections. The Committee would also like to thank Ray DiMaria and Professor Stephen Shafer for their donations.

Historic Oakdale is meant to be an expanding project, and material will be added to it over time. All images may be downloaded and used for research and private uses.

If you have any questions about the project, or would like to share any information you have on any of the scenes depicted, please contact Chris Kretz (project manager) or Su Terry (archivist).

Dowling Digitization Committee:

Michael Aloi, Cataloger
Chris Kretz, Librarian
Carlos Pinder, Computer Technician (January - August 2004)
Su Garrison Terry, Archivist/Librarian

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Historic Oakdale is an online collection of images created using CONTENTdm software from DiMeMa. Materials used in the project were scanned on an Epson Perfection 2400 Photo scanner at 600 dpi. Images were scanned in color and saved as TIFF files. From these, display images were created as 150 dpi JPEGs (compression level 5). Horizontal images were resized to a 640 pixel width, vertical images to a 600 pixel height to allow easier viewing on lower browser settings. An unsharp mask was also applied to the images (with settings of: amount 150%, radius 1.0 pixels, and threshold level 0). All image work was done using Adobe Photoshop 7.0.

LONG ISLAND MEMORIES PROJECT

The Long Island Memories Project is a collaboration of over 12 libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies taking part in the Long Island Library Resources Council's Regional Digitization Program. The overall aim of the program is to provide online access to the unique historical and cultural heritage of Long Island as represented in each institution's collection.