Q. How do I find, view or print historic photos in the catalog?

Below are directions to access and view BCPL's Historic Photograph Collection (formerly known as Legacy Web).

Customer Usage of Photos and Printing

While Historic photos can be searched and viewed using the library's catalog, they cannot be downloaded or printed from the catalog. Contact the library's Cataloging Department to get permission to print historic photos. More information and a contact link is at the end of this page.  

To search for historic photos

• Use ONLY the Chrome or Firefox web browser to search historic photos. Other browsers may not work. 
• Go to BCPL's home page at www.bcpl.info
• Hover over the Books and More tab.
• Select Catalog from the drop down menu.
• Click the down arrow in the "Limit by" field, below the Search box and select "Photograph: Historic" from the drop down menu.
• Click in the Search field and enter any of the following:
  • * (asterisk symbol) in the search field will show the entire collection of historic photos
  • Enter the name of a neighborhood such as Woodlawn, Towson, or Turners Station
  • Enter the name of a business or a type of business such as restaurant, gas station, quarry or Hamburger Junction
  • Enter a street name such as York Road or Reisterstown Road
  • Enter a person's name such as Glen L. Martin or Dulaney
  • Enter a keyword or keywords such as:
    • schools
    • houses
    • Catonsville library
    • Parkville school
    • African American church
• Remember to click the down arrow in the "Limit by" field and select "Photograph: Historic" from the menu. If you forget to do this step you will get many results that are not photographs.  
• Click the search button (magnifying glass icon) to run the search.

Viewing photos

• Use the Chrome or Firefox web browsers
• Scroll down through the list of results and find a photo you want to view
• Look below the description field of each photo and use the link which says, "Click here to see thumbnail images"
• Now click on "Full Size image" 
• If the Click here... link is not visible, click on the title of a photo to open the catalog record
• Then scroll to the end of the page and select "View Full Size Image" to open the image
• High Quality Image is not available at this time

Use and Printing of Photos

Contact the library's Cataloging Department to obtain electronic copies of historic photos, to get permission to use and/or print historic photos using this email form. Include information about the specific image(s) you want to obtain and describe how you plan to use them. After an review of the specific image and how it will be used, the library may grant you permission to use a photograph. If permission is granted, you will be emailed a digital file of the requested image(s). There is no charge for historic photo files but it is up to the customer to print the image(s) once they receive the file from the library.