Library Historical Photograph Identification Form

Help Preserve Local History Through Photo Identification

Libraries and archives hold thousands of historical photographs that lack complete information about the people, places, and events they depict. This Library Historical Photograph Identification Form empowers community members to contribute their knowledge and memories, helping to preserve and enrich local history for future generations.

Why Community Crowdsourcing Matters

Local residents often hold irreplaceable knowledge about historical photographs—recognizing family members, identifying locations that have changed, or remembering events captured decades ago. By creating an accessible digital form for photo identification submissions, libraries can tap into this collective memory before it's lost.

Built for Librarians and Archivists

This Paperform template is designed specifically for public libraries, historical societies, university archives, and cultural institutions running photo identification projects. The form captures detailed metadata about each submission, including:

• Reference to the photograph being identified
• Contributor contact information
• Detailed identification of people, places, dates, and events
• Supporting evidence and source of knowledge
• Rights and permissions for using submitted information

The structured format ensures that valuable community knowledge is captured in a way that's immediately useful for archive updating and catalog enhancement.

Streamline Your Archive Workflow with Stepper

Once identification submissions come in, you can use Stepper to automate your review and cataloging workflow. Automatically route submissions to appropriate archivists, update your catalog system, send acknowledgment emails to contributors, and track the verification process—all without manual data entry.

Professional and Welcoming Design

The form balances professional archive standards with a welcoming tone that encourages community participation. Clear instructions help contributors provide complete information, while optional fields ensure that even partial knowledge can be captured and preserved.

Whether you're running a large-scale digitization project or simply trying to identify a few mystery photographs, this template provides the foundation for successful community engagement in historical preservation.