The Role of Digital Archives in Education
Image used with permission from client collection Digital archives have become an essential resource in the realm of education, fundamentally transforming the ways in which students and researchers access and interact with primary source materials. These archives preserve critical historical documents, photographs, and recordings, making them readily available to a global audience. As educational institutions […]
Anderson Archival’s Holiday Gift Guide
For the family historian to give or receive As the holiday season approaches, the search for the perfect gift can often be daunting. For those with a passion for uncovering and preserving family history, the right gift can be both meaningful and inspiring. Whether you are shopping for an avid genealogist or seeking to weave […]
Sometimes You Need a Vacuum: Using the Right Tools for the Job
At Anderson Archival, we understand the importance of preserving history with the utmost care and precision. Our motto, “Do it right the first time,” drives us because for historical materials there may not be a second chance. This principle guides us in selecting the best tools for scanning a wide variety of materials, ensuring that […]
Don’t Lose Your History
Recorded history is an irreplaceable treasure, but physical historical records are constantly under threat. Books, records, photographs, and hand-written letters are meant to be passed on to future generations, but the more they’re used, the more likely they are to sustain irreversible damage. Over time, the valuable information recorded on paper can become indistinguishable from […]
Digging into Cemetery Records
How do organizations decide to digitize regularly used collections? Infrastructural organizations like libraries, hospitals, schools, churches, and nonprofits rely on accurate, accessible records. Putting collections of essential records to the side for processing isn’t always feasible, and digitization isn’t fast when done correctly. Once an organization moves forward with digitizing their collection, decision makers often […]
Everlasting Ti Amo – Italian Love Letters Preserved
These days, some might consider letter writing an outdated form of communication or even a lost art. But at a time when one couldn’t simply send a text or email to a faraway love, these collections are a testament to everlasting human relationships. Correspondence has the ability to tell a story, and a collection of letters can […]
Beyond Image Capture
In the realm of preservation, it’s essential that a digital file—a digital representation of the original object—accurately captures the current state of a physical object. The image file should effectively serve as a placeholder, an equivalent representation to the original object. That, along with secure storage and access, make up the field of digital preservation. […]
Who Can You Trust with Your History?
Recent Anderson Archival client Steve Brunkhorst found himself the caretaker of four old family albums. Like many others in the same situation, he didn’t know how to share the collection with his family in a way that was fair and sustainable for the materials. But the biggest challenge was finding someone he knew he could […]
Adopting Digital Preservation for a Legacy of Caring
Technology is so engrained in our everyday lives that it can be hard to imagine a time when the only evidence of one’s ancestry was a single handwritten line in an archive across the country. But before the age of virtual records and digital paper trails, this was the only option for some people hunting […]
2020: The Time Capsule
For many different reasons, 2020 was a year to remember. The world handled a global pandemic, upheaval of normal life, and social unrest. How do we preserve the memories of this unique year and the lessons learned for generations to come? Time capsules may seem like childhood fancy or relics of the past, especially when […]
