‘Burbank in Focus’ database showcases archival photos of the city and its people

Hundreds of historic photos depicting Burbank decades ago are now within one’s reach by just the click of a mouse.

The Burbank Public Library launched its newest online database called “Burbank in Focus,” a digital archive of more than 800 photos, during a launch event at the Burbank Central Library last week.

More than 50 people gathered in the library’s auditorium to peruse the numerous collections firsthand, pulling up various high-resolution photos including the city from an aerial view, public events, local libraries and the Hollywood Burbank Airport.

“This is a culmination of over a year’s work by talented library staff, working in conjunction with partners in the city and throughout the community, to launch an online database of historical Burbank photos,” said Elizabeth Goldman, the city’s library services director, during the event.

“‘Burbank in Focus’ will showcase the rich history of Burbank, the people, places and activities that made us what we are today. We look forward to building the site over time with contributions from individuals, from other city departments and from community partners,” she added.

Though the database includes hundreds of photos saved by the library and by the public, most of the photos were donated by the city clerk’s office, said Melissa Potter, the city’s assistant library services director.

“A lot of these photos were locked up in boxes for ages, so no one saw them,” she said. “If there had been a fire or a flood, they would have been lost completely. Not only can people all over the world look at them at the very same time, [the photo database] is backed up on three different servers, so they’re less likely to disappear.”

There are two ways the vintage images are being digitally stored in the library’s database. A high-resolution scanner with the capability to convert negative film slides is the main option for librarians. However, if picture is too large, a photo rig with a digital single-lens-reflex camera is used.

Jeff Whalen, a librarian at the Central Library in charge of digitizing the photos for “Burbank in Focus,” said the library staff is more than happy for people to bring in their photos to be scanned. However, the library has yet to determine whether it will allow people to digitally submit their photos to the database.

“The photos have to be a certain file size, so we’re not really accepting photos that people took on their digital cameras and emailing us right now, but that may change,” he said.

Whalen added that the library does not keep the original photos after they are digitized. Those who contribute their photos will get them back and will also receive a flash drive with high-resolution digital copies of their photos.

Burbank resident Jerry Schneider and his family donated about eight photos of Lockheed aircraft made at Hollywood Burbank Airport back when the aerospace company owned the airfield.

The fathers of both Schneider and his wife worked for Lockheed and had photos of the planes they were building. His wife had photos of P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft that were recently declassified that she thought were worth sharing with the community and the world.

Schneider said that he was impressed with the collection the library has amassed, thus far, and is excited to see what else people will contribute.

“It’s important for people to understand where the city that they live in came from,” he said. “Forty, 50, 60 years ago, people lived much as they do today, but in a whole different environment. To be able to look back on the way the city was at that time hopefully gives people an idea of what the future may bring.”

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio