Posts Tagged ‘Digitization’
Uniontown Public Library Wins ODS Book Scanner, Begins Collection Digitization
Update: As of June 2023, the Crowley ODS book scanner has been discontinued. The scanners continue to be supported by Crowley’s Technical Support team. Note from the Editor: It’s a solemn time around the Southwest, but this week has been especially difficult for one of our most beloved vertical markets, libraries, with the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and the horrific shooting in Clovis, New Mexico. While this blog post can’t alleviate the pain left by these tragic…
Crafting the Craftsman: Digitization Brings Important Museum Database Online
In talking with Gary Albert, Adjunct Curator of Silver and Metals at the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), editor of the MESDA Journal and self-proclaimed digestive tract (“the research and archives are the food; the articles are what come out”), one thing is abundantly clear: he loves his job(s). A New Jersey native educated in Ohio, Albert moved to North Carolina and has ironically become a passionate spokesman for historic craftsman and the material culture of the early…
Life in the Fast (Scanning) Lane: Digitizing History Rapidly with the UScan+
If there is one thing you can say about Kenneth Shelton, it is that he is passionate about history . . . specifically, the history of his family’s hometown in South Carolina. This was remarkably clear to me when I first read about the volunteer scanning work Ken has been doing for the Fairfield County South Carolina Museum and Historical Society. We’re celebrating American Archives Month by sharing the story of Ken’s digitization efforts and dedication to preserving the past….
Staying Power: A Conversation with The Crowley’s
The following blog post is an article published last month in IDMi Magazine. When one considers the changes in technology in the analog and digital imaging industries over the past four decades, it seems nearly impossible that a small firm has been able to survive – and thrive – while remaining an independent entity in a very narrow, niche market. Yet for 36 years, The Crowley Company has been a staple in the worlds of archival preservation, digitization and records…
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…
Out of the Shop and Into The Office
It was 2014 when I first walked through The Crowley Company’s doors. I had a feeling then that this place would become an important one for me, but I couldn’t have predicted the impact it would have on my understanding of myself and the world. As I leave the Technical Service Department to join the marketing team I look back on my initiation into the world of preservation and my subsequent evolution. I began as an intern in the marketing…
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…
What I Never Thought I’d Know About The Imaging Industry
When I was in college studying for my communications degree, I never imagined that I would ever have to know the difference between 16mm and 35mm microfilm; 300dpi and 600dpi resolution; or flatbed vs overhead capture. Then I got a job at The Crowley Company. In just a few short years, I’ve learned a lot about the imaging industry and the people who make it their job to preserve and share digital and analog content. It’s the people that I’m…
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…