Archive for the ‘Digitization Services’ Category
Microfilm Theology
Every once in a while life hands you an easy button. In this case, the button is one of the easiest blogs I’ve never had to write. Last week, Crowley’s West Coast hardware representative, Ed Berkowitz, shared an article written by Ernie Smith, editor of Tedium. Titled “The Strange History of Microfilm, Which Will Be With Us for Centuries,” the writing is entertaining, educational and brings home the message we oft repeat here: microfilm lasts. Preach, Brother Smith! From Dancer…
Why I Love Libraries: An Ode to Books, Librarians and Everything In Between
In celebration of this week’s American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Orlando, I’ve decided to put together a countdown of my favorite things about libraries. Libraries aren’t just about free Wi-Fi access and the smell of old books (although those are things to love as well); libraries have a multitude of qualities that deserve praise and recognition, in my humble opinion. Through the vigorous efforts of librarians, community leaders and patrons, I’ve found that libraries have held their place…
Medical Minutes Survive the Years with Digitization
Last October, in recognition of American Archives Month, Crowley Imaging collaborated with the Delaware Historical Society (DHS) to digitize “Minutes of the Medical Society of Delaware from May 12, 1789 to December 15, 1847.” Now 227 years old, this medical book was donated to DHS in 1888 by Dr. John P. Wales, a Delaware doctor who, according to DHS Chief Curator Dr. Constance Cooper, “practiced medicine in the Wilmington area for 60 years.” The son of a Senator, he was…
Cecil County Records Aid Research on Black History
February is the month dedicated to honoring the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history, chosen in part to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, an escaped Maryland slave and national leader of the abolitionist movement, and Abraham Lincoln, the nation’s 16th President, under whose term slavery was formally abolished. On the heels of a preservation project on which Crowley Imaging and the Historical Society of Cecil County (Md.) (HSCC) collaborated, we spoke to historian and HSCC board member, Mike…
Farewell Dan (for now)
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dan James for seven years, albeit in five minute increments. A night shift supervisor and microfilm specialist with Crowley Imaging, Dan, clad in his signature plaid flannel shirt, makes a quick round to lock the doors every evening around 6 p.m. On those nights I’m still at my desk, he’ll pop his head in to say hello. Dan is retiring next Wednesday and I will miss both the feeling of security knowing he’s in the…
Jobs Well Done
Our week ended on a high note this past Friday. Not only were three Crowley Imaging employees singled out (tripled out?) at the division’s quarterly meeting, we also received a client letter that was glowing in its commendation for one of Crowley’s senior technicians. While every employee is critical to our ongoing success, this presents the ideal opportunity to introduce you to four of Crowley’s valued team members. Elias Flores (right) has been with Crowley Imaging since 1992. For the…
When You Can’t Be Everything to Everybody…Partner Up
In business, it’s sometimes hard to resist the temptation to add a product or service just because someone has asked for it. There’s a balance between the desire to please and the cost to invent (or re-invent) the wheel. If two businesses are willing, strategic partnerships can be the ideal solution – offering clients enhanced services without added expense or elongated learning curves for any of the parties involved. Two recent partnerships have reminded us of the benefit of pairing…
Crowley Imaging and Quantum Processing: The Hybrid Approach
If you have a collection of microfilm or microfiche which needs to be digitized, then you’re probably familiar with the standard options: purchase a scanner and perform the digitization in-house or outsource the project by sending the film or fiche to a conversion service bureau, like Crowley Imaging. What many don’t know is that there is a third option, available exclusively through The Crowley Company, which we call the hybrid approach. What is the Hybrid Approach? The hybrid approach consists of two…
Going Digital: Sacramental Documents “Transfigured”
As much of the world prepares to celebrate Easter this Sunday, it seems a good week to feature an upcoming digitization project for downtown Baltimore’s Transfiguration Catholic Community: 88 precisely hand-written bound volumes which record the births, communions, confirmations and marriages of three city parishes dating back to 1842. Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP (Father Augustine), pastor of the Transfiguration community, notes that the digitization of these registries is an effort to both preserve the records and to increase the…
Digitizing Presidential Collections for UVA Miller Center
The University of Virginia (UVA) Miller Center was recently awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to digitize Presidential collections and make them available to the public online. Part of this grant provides the necessary funding to develop a website called Connecting Presidential Collections (CPC).[1] The CPC site is intended to become a central searchable repository for digitized Presidential collections. Already, the site hosts digitized images from over 80 collections. In addition to developing this site, the…