Author Archive
Mount Vernon’s Digital Decade:
10 Years of Scanning Projects with The Crowley Company
Nearly 10 years after The Crowley Company’s (Crowley) original blog on digitizing collections with George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the two institutions continue to share the legacy of George and Martha through digital preservation. Since then, Crowley has assisted in six Mount Vernon scanning projects (producing over 20,000+ digital images). While the materials have changed and the technology has advanced, the process and partnership have remained constant. In honor of the first ever State of the Union address (given by George…
Innovating Tradition: Belmont University’s Special Collections Digitization
Belmont University Scans School and Alumni History using the Zeutschel OS C Book Scanner Established in 1890 in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, Belmont University began providing women with not just an education but a platform for cultural, intellectual and social development. In doing so, the university set what would become its legacy for innovation and embracing change. The university’s latest step towards technological innovation — the purchase of a Zeutschel OS C overhead book scanner — both advances the…
A Very “OK” Newspaper
Scanning Project
Oklahoma Historical Society Makes Historic Microfilmed Newspapers Accessible Online In the heartland of America, where rugged landscapes meet resilient people, the diverse stories of Oklahoma are now made accessible through digital newspapers. The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is taking enthusiastic steps to digitize over 4,000 newspaper titles which have been distributed in the Sooner State as far back as the 1840s (well before Oklahoma became an official state). Sarah Biller, the OHS Newspaper Department Supervisor gave The Crowley Company some…
A Call from the Past: Embracing the History and Future of Aperture Card Scanners
It all started when I received a voice message from Walter (Walt) Spicer, a former records management professional from Napa, California. In his short (but informative) message, he told me the story of his patent for a machine which created aperture cards and asked if The Crowley Company (Crowley) could send an aperture card as a memento of his life’s work to pass along to future generations. This interaction sparked the realization that the motivation of Walt’s request paralleled the…
Overhead Scanners are Irreplaceable for Document Digitization
The following blog was originally posted by Zeutschel GmbH and is reposted with permission. Scanning services providers are currently facing major challenges. More and more projects require the parallel processing of difficult and mixed documents. In addition, there is a clear trend towards the digitization of bound documents. Dokumenten- und Datenservice Wandel GmbH (DD Wandel) shows how these tasks can be successfully mastered with the use of overhead scanners. As part of national cultural funding programs, many municipal archives have…
Savoy Archive: Leading the Digitization Pack with the Zeutschel OS Q0
The following blog, authored by Marquet Nuria at the Département Savoie, is reposted with permission. The Département Savoie (Savoy) is located in Chambéry, France and employs the Zeutschel OS Q0 cultural heritage scanner in their archival digitization process. The Savoy was one of the first archives in the world to utilize the high quality overhead system. The OS Q series is the next generation of Zeutschel scan system and is an excellent replacement for older generations of large format book…
Wild, Wonderful and Well-Documented
Scanning West Virginia Land Records with the Zeutschel 12000 Wild, wonderful West Virginia. For me, these words ring very true. Harpers Ferry has become one of my favorite places to visit in recent years for its natural beauty, challenging – yet fun – hiking trails and compelling history. Harpers Ferry resides in Jefferson County, which is also known for its compelling history, beauty and rising popularity. The Jefferson County West Virginia’s Assessor’s Office is currently digitizing land records to help the…
Zeutschel GmbH Celebrates 60 Years in the Digitization Field
The Crowley Company’s longtime partner, Zeutschel GmbH, celebrated their 60th year in business in December 2021. The following blog, written by Zetuschel, is reposted with permission and details their growth as a market leader in the still media digitization technology field. What do the manuscripts of Johann Sebastian Bach, the written correspondence of Abraham Lincoln and the Cuban diary entries of Alexander von Humboldt have in common? They were all digitized with the scanning solutions from Zeutschel GmbH. The Tübingen, Germany…
Zeutschel 12002 Scanner Enhances Milton Public Library’s Local History Resources
Over the past 160 years, the Milton Public Library has evolved from a small mechanics’ institute which served 29 members to a bustling public library network which now serves one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Canada.¹ With the goal of empowering the 130,000+ residents to read, learn, create and connect, the Library staff is constantly developing new ways to better serve its flourishing municipality. Recently, these efforts have included a push toward digital access to valuable research information through digitization. Mark…
Christmas: A Tale of Two Censuses
A Once in a Lifetime Records Opportunity: Scanning the 1921 Census of England and Wales Regardless of how you celebrate the holidays, did it ever occur to you that the very first Christmas was driven by a records manager and a census (with a little divine inspiration)? While census records have changed a lot in the centuries since the birth of Jesus, the information is still critical and its absence can be devastating. Case in point: the 1921 England and…