Stratford District Council (SDC) holds a large collection of photos of Stratford District places, people, and events, and is seeking the help of locals to correctly identify them.

SDC was recently successful in a funding application through the National Library Partnership Programme to digitise archived photos so that they can be easily accessed by family historians, researchers and anyone else interested in the history of Stratford.

Our Library and Visitor Information Centre staff are undertaking the large project and are looking for additional help from community members.

Team Leader, Visitor Information and Library Services Bridget Roper says, “We are looking for helpers to identify and provide metadata for the photos online. Metadata is information that provides a definition or summarises basic information about each image we have.”

“The photos are stored safely but many of the details, like their age and origin are unknown, and that’s what we need help with,” she says.

People already following Stratford Library on Facebook would have noticed that digital copies of these community archives are being shared regularly to help gather this data, using the hashtag #stratfordheritagecollection

People are encouraged to comment on the posts with any information or knowledge they have on the photo shared, or they can email library@stratford.govt.nz

Bridget says they’re also interested in hearing from people who might want to help with the project on a longer term basis. People can contact her on 06 765 5493 or by emailing library@stratford.govt.nz

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