Part of the job of a Picture Librarian is to do visual trend research. We predict what trends are coming, so we can stay on top of our digitising and identify possible image requests coming our way.
Sugar Glider, Petaurus breviceps, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa
An example of visual trends would be the current shift in consumer behaviour. We are completely addicted to technology these days…..you name it and there is a gadget or an app for it.
So what do we digitise then? Well Te Papa holds images of the historical gadgets that might seem simply prehistoric to modern users but we digitise these so that people can view the developments in technology over the years. Think about the changes that have occured to the telephone, the camera, the radio. Thirty years ago who would have thought that all three could be rolled into one device that you could hold in the palm of your hand.
Events happening throughout New Zealand also influence visual trends. The recent election, the rugby world cup and the little blue penguins that had to be rescued from the Rena oil spill. These can all make an impact on visual trends and the requirements of image users. The same goes with world events too.
While we can predict alot of visual trends coming our way, there is one trend that I would never in a million years have seen coming…..LOL animals. Don’t deny you haven’t had the odd giggle at Maru the cat, with his 12,983,838 views or the ultimate dog tease, with his 91,867,644. Once these animals hit the internet and go viral there seems to be a huge audience out there who just love animals and love to have a bit of a laugh as well.
With this in mind we went on a hunt through the collection and pulled together a selection of our favorite LOL animals picture that always give us a giggle when we see them….enjoy!
Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, collected no data. Te Papa
Billy Silly, 1958, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.
Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, collected no data. Gift of the Wellington City Council, 1929. Te Papa
Laughing kitten, 1950s, New Zealand. Lee-Johnson, Eric. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. © Te Papa.
Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, collected 23 Sep 1957, Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica. Te Papa
By Becky Masters, Picture Library Manager
www.tepapapicturelibrary.co.nz
Hi Adele
If you send an email to picturelibrary@tepapa.govt.nz a staff member should be able to help you
Kind regards
Becky Masters
Picture Library Manager
love the Billy goat… I came across a lovely photograph the other day, it was from a collection in the old Dominion Museum, of John Chew’s washing machine, bought over from USA, made…. early 1800s.. wonder what happened to the item when the museum was closed… John Chew had the cottage at Ngaio, still there.. cottage that is.. but the machine looks like a wooden orange box.. how times change!! We need photographs to see items!