23 IT in the Library

I've used a number of different photo sharing systems over time including Flickr, Picasa and Gallery. I'm just not a big fan of them because I really don't want my family photos posted for the whole world to see. Sure, Flickr allows me to limit who sees my photos, but do I really want members of my family to have to create a whole new account with some unknown (to them) service?

Gallery is not really a photo sharing service, but photo sharing software that can be installed on a web server. I use it to share photos of my family with my family in a private manner. Anyone who wants to view the photos must log in. It can be limiting at times when I want to show friends or coworkers, but my privacy is important.

With Flickr I see 2 things that set them apart (or at least used to). The first is user tagging. Tagging is a popular movement with many where anyone can assign any word or phrase to an object. Personally I don't have time to think about tags, but I have found other people's tags useful. The second innovative thing about Flickr is the notes feature. Notes allow you to draw lines around objects in a photo and make notes about that area to help the viewer understand what they're looking at. The feature is well used in the Clemens Reads photo series.


I'm glad for online photo sharing services, but they're not for me. I have the experience and tools I need to share photos my own way. As for our library, I don't believe we have a need to use such a service. As long as we have our own web servers, we'll always be able to post photos there.