Digitization in the Nation
This past week at the Pack Library, I have been digitizing the Michael Harney collection that I had been organizing before. The process is far simpler than I had originally imagined. On the database I write down a bit of the information on each folder, giving each folder a page as well. First is that time period that the folder covers, then some different search terms, any associated groups or organizations, and most importantly the description. The description for each folder should be written in a straightforward manner, while also thoroughly describing the contents of said folder, much the way a historian’s writings should be clear while also being heavily detailed. The scanning process is just as simple, yet far more rewarding. The scanners at Pack are really rather nice, and easy to use. Simply place your page you are scanning onto the scanner, preview the page and make certain you are scanning it in its entirety, name and number your page, and scan! Then turn it into a pdf file. If there are multiple pages to a document, you must combine them into a single pdf, which is where the numbering is most useful, as it assures that the pages are in order. Once the document is a pdf it must be converted to a pdf that can be recognized as having text, and then made smaller so it can more easily go onto the database. I had always wondered how pdfs were created, and now I know it is simply a matter of having the proper software. Each folder needs about three documents online, simply as a way to give someone looking at the folder online a good idea about what they can find in it.