Preserving the 175,000 FSA photographs, one at a time

The Library’s 16-year-long project to complete the high-resolution digitization of all 175,000 images in the historic Farm Security Administration files is nearing its end. Fewer than 15,000 negatives remain to be scanned and uploaded to the Library’s website. Created to support President Roosevelt’s New Deal social programs between 1935-1944, the documentary photographs have become some of the most iconic images of American life. The work to digitize those deteriorating negatives has been a slow, patient process that involves careful attention to each image, looking for specs of dust, scratches and other flaws.