Transcription from the Crowd: Three Success Stories
The cost of paying for expert text recognition, proofreading, and quality assurance do not need to be prohibitory barriers to the completion of a digital library, recent stories show. Projects ranging from preserving digital records of the stars to documenting the civil rights and suffrage movements have employed volunteers to transcribe historical documents. Whether dedicated […]
Who Will Use This Collection and How? All About Use Cases
Use cases. It’s simply a term for capturing the functional requirements of a digital library. Each use case is written from the user’s perspective, defining who they are and how they want and expect to use the digital collection. Understanding use cases is essential for determining how a collection will be best delivered, and what […]
How Do You Build Effective Search? (Hint: Metadata and Tagging!)
Does your digitization partner know your collection? Search results, whether too broad or broken, often reveal how well archivists know your material. Proper use of metadata and tagging, from general information to specific facets only relevant to your collection, make all the difference. For a company like Anderson Archival, the digitization process is only the […]
Learn: What is Historical Document Digitiziation?
Learn what type of documents can be digitized, and an overview of the historical document digitization process in this Anderson Archival explainer. What Is Historical Document Digitization?
Fires Rage, History Fades
Physical structures may feel like safe, permanent homes for humanity’s history, but they are also fragile, vulnerable to human error and malice alike.” – Andrew Lapin, NPR If you saw our recent article about the Karpeles Museum fire in St. Louis, you’re well aware of the dangers that threaten physical historical manuscripts. Flood, flame, and […]
The Path to Funding Your Archival Project
You have big dreams and your organization has a big impact on communities, but sometimes you run into big roadblocks when funding your projects. Some of your projects include protecting and preserving documented history, which is our mission as well, so we know how important it is to be able to fund those projects. Asking […]
How It All Began: The Start of Anderson Archival
Before Anderson Archival, there was Anderson Technologies. It might seem strange that an IT company would branch into digital archiving, but the story behind this expansion showcases what clients of both firms know about us: integrity, dedication, and client focus are core values at the heart of all we do. Our hallmarks include expertise and […]
More Than Bitcoin: Taking Blockchain Technology to Preservation
What do Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have to do with archiving? The technology cryptocurrencies are built on – the blockchain – is drawing attention from those who seek to innovate within all industries, including archival. This is especially relevant for the future of the archival community, as blockchain holds a potential solution to problems of impermanence […]
Quotables: Digitizing the Stars: Harvard University’s Glass Plate Collection
Check out Anderson Archival’s recent contribution to bloggERS! The Blog of SAA’s Electronic Records Section. Digital Archivist Shana Scott presents a case study from Harvard University’s preservation of night sky photographs. Scott tells the story of astronomer Dr. Henry Draper, his wife Anna, and the women of Harvard’s Observatory who were dedicated to the preservation […]
Treasure or Trash?
Those of us who’ve seen Antiques Roadshow a few times have probably reflected on the once-thought-worthless item that ends up being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. How can someone not know what they have is priceless? And on the other hand, how can that dusty old artifact be worth anything? Sometimes those antiques (and […]
