Archive for the ‘Digitization Services’ Category
From Google Alert to Dorothea Lange
As I reluctantly shook off the long weekend and dragged my cursor through Monday morning’s inbox, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Google Alert entitled “Fourth of July Celebrations from the 1870s to 1940” citing “Library of Congress, The Crowley Company/Dorothea Lange.” Getting an alert that actually applies is akin to getting a ‘real’ letter in the mail: you don’t know if you should open it first because it’s not junk or draw out the anticipation to later savor…
Celebrating Independence; Remembering the Revolution
As we celebrate Independence Day this week, we appreciate that the 4th of July is more than an excuse for a three-day weekend (although it’s a plus). It’s a chance to celebrate the day we declared ourselves a free nation. There are several organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of Colonial Wars and more who devote not just one day, but generations to memorializing the Revolutionary War and its role in shaping our country’s history. Crowley…
Selling to the Competition
I recently interviewed a client for an upcoming case study on Mekel Technology microfilm and microfiche scanners. The client represents a service bureau and asked a question we hear often, “We’re Crowley competitors. How do you represent us and yourselves at the same time?” Good question. Crowley has several divisions: research and development; manufacturing; hardware sales; technical support and Crowley Imaging, our own service bureau. In addition to selling to service bureaus, with which we compete, we also manufacture…
Princeton’s Latin American Ephemera
Having celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Monday, we decided to raise our margaritas and toast Princeton’s Latin American Ephemera Collection. Crowley Imaging is currently under contract to scan and convert more than 100, 000 images from the collections, which are unparalleled in size and scope. As a result of this project, a vast portion that has so far remained uncatalogued, and therefore hidden from students and scholars, will soon become freely and widely available on the web. Short-lived…Forever The concept…
Crowley Imaging Goes Hollywood with West Coast Imaging Facility
Well, technically we’re 34 miles west, but that’s still pretty darn close to Tinseltown. The fact is that with this week’s asset acquisition of Integrated Scanning of America (ISA), a respected California scanning bureau, Crowley Imaging now has an imaging facility to serve clients in the western United States. And that’s good news all around. What exactly is a service bureau? Those in the archive preservation and records management industries understand that a service bureau in our industry is descriptive…
When 26 Doesn’t Equal 26
Don’t Let Camera Megapixels Fool You For a non- or semi-technical person, when it comes to megapixels (or pretty much anything), the common understanding is that bigger is better. But there are caveats. Aren’t there always? (Wine and chocolate come immediately to mind). The following is a brief and elementary explanation of camera resolution and what to look for when you’re purchasing a scanner as it pertains to this topic. It’s important to note that this is just one factor…
Saving Black History: Digitizing Records of The Central Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane
The name alone is enough to conjure images from television’s “American Horror” yet this is no scriptwriter’s drama. Instead, the records of The Central Lunatic Asylum For Colored Insane tell the stories of tens of thousands of real African American psychiatric patients dating back more than 100 years. Except for the intervention of Dr. King Davis, director and professor of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis, these stories may well have…
Crowley Digitizes 15 Volumes from the Mount Vernon Historical Collection
As we celebrate President’s Day this week, we look back to the one who started it all; George Washington. The man who led our troops to victory in the Revolutionary war and helped shape 13 orphaned colonies into the United States of America. His ideals contributed to the foundation of the Constitution and have stood as a moral benchmark for the evolution of the country. Over two centuries after his death, we are now able to celebrate his…
Choosing the Right Book Scanning Method
Books are one of the oldest and most enduring forms of communication and keepsakes of cultural tradition. Whether they contain fiction, history, how-to guides or clerical information and whether they are kept in a library, archive, records room or other repository, books are a vital resource containing a vast array of knowledge. With the world quickly going digital and rare or fragile material fading with time, it is a constant effort to make this knowledge available for future generations. Enter…
Is Crowley your Hidden Link? Digitizing and Genealogy.
As regards ancestry, Abraham Lincoln once said, “I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” While we smile at the truth and wisdom of his statement, we cannot all claim the same. With the surge in genealogic interest, business, and technology, it’s safe to say that many of us do know – at least by name – our grandfathers and our grandfathers before that. Today, one can find…