We have the ability to add a source citation to every type of fact associate with a person. And we have the ability to add a source citation to the very existence of a person. But when I acquire a photo of a person that I want to use as their headshot, there is no good way to document the source where I got that photo. Did I get it from a cousin? Found on Facebook? In an obit? In a box of photos from Aunt Hazel?
I suggest adding the Source field to the existing fields currently in the Media screen. I can use the Description field, but that is inconsistent with how everything else is sourced. Another benefit is that if I create a source for that box of photos from Aunt Hazel and assign it to all the photos in that box, then I could run the Source List report to get a list of all the photos that originally came from that box.
Full disclosure: I’m still on RM9, have not yet made the leap to RM10 (but I intend to soon).
It is important that a source field be included to the media screen in order to correctly record photo sources. This section would let users identify where they found the picture from Aunt Hazel photo box to facebook; a cousin; or a memorial.
Yes, pick the Citation option and it will let you pick the source and citation that goes with it. It would have to be already existing. Add it on the Source page in advance to pick from.
Thanks @kevync1985 and @rzamor1, I had not thought of that approach, but it works for what I was asking for. And after some experimentation I think the Scrapbook report, in combination with the Source List report, will do a nice job summarizing the information. But only if the media item is tagged at the citation level, rather than the source level.
The approach that looks promising to me is: Source = Aunt Hazel’s photo box - with description of where it’s located, when it was accessed, etc. Citation(s) = one for each photo in the box - with a description of what is known about the subject.
I hadn’t thought of doing it this way either. I’ve asked this question before so it is good to see some possible solutions. I think you have it correct with source & citation but I think that there should be a way to add the citation while in the media widow rather than go out to the source and add the citation there.
Recently I’ve been using the reference # field on the Edit Media window to capture the source of the media, the link to it (if available), and the date it was received/accessed. This is slightly tedious but it gives me all the info I need on one screen. This method seems way more efficient than adding a citation so I am going to have to spend some time playing with this to see how it works for me. My main goal was to be able to find out were all the media in my Media Library originated from in case of some question of accuracy and/or ownership.
I have even been using this technique for media items such as census and vital records but now I see that since I used the media item in a citation (where I describe the origin and URL for the item) the media item is automatically tagged to the citation and I probably don’t need to do anything with the reference #.
@Spyder I agree that the Source/Citation should be a full-fledged attribute that could be directly populated in the Media window, much like it is for Tasks. And just as importantly, easily viewed at that level. But I’m just happy that there is a method to document this information at all.
