By Anne Rothfeld
(Mounted May 27, 2001)
The collection consists of 225,000 pages, 5,000+ still images, 2,600 microfiche cards (approximately 144,000 pages),
and 400+ monographs (approximately 150,000 pages). The images
were being created in true optical 600 dots per inch (dpi), either in grayscale or color, with lossless compression,
stored on a NT server as master tiff files which was deemed as an archival and preservation copy. Then, the images
would be copied and stored to a separate access server in which the access pdf files will be available for general
document distribution, both internally and externally. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) will be used in about one
to five percent of the collection.
To help locate folders within the collection, an accessioning and tracking database was created in MSAccess and
consisted of fields entitled, "accession number," "creator,"
"date," "document type," and "subject classification" plus status and location
information for each identified folder. This database
was to be used as the basis for creating both internal and external interfaces for the general public. A
second MSAccess database
was being created for cataloging, description, and historical purposes, and the cataloging
would follow already established archival standards. Last, finding aids would be written and made available
on the
Web using Encoded Archival Description (EAD).
Another issue involved PhotoShop, the scanning software being used.
PhotoShop is powerful, but too many of the features were not suitable for this
particular project. PhotoShop allows for the scanning at the current requirements of 600 dpi, and the
ability to change the contrast and brightness for each scanned image, but this project
had developed very specific needs and no software currently existed to address those needs. For example,
when scanning, PhotoShop only allows enhancements after the scan and for the entire photo only, not for
specific blocks within the photographs.
Finally, the recommended scanning equipment and specs were
not thoroughly examined during the initial review period. The scanner's glass beds do not allow for the
scanning of pages larger than letter size.
As of this writing, the project at the U.S. Mint is six months old. In that time, roughly
one-fourth of the collection has been rehoused. There is about 30,000 images on the server.
Soon the project will face another interesting
challenge: how to incorporate other institutions' and organizations' records, and
coordinate with them on how to effectively scan the images.
Techies and database people are neither historians nor archivists and do not understand
the functions of an archives for historical research purposes. Their role in a project like this
one is to simply offer advice on the software and hardware functions and to not overtake the direction
of the project. Technology is changing so rapidly that there are very limited standards to follow.
Using tiff as the master copy file is an unwritten standard that many institutions are implementing
into their imaging projects. Server space and file size is forever and issue and concern.
For all of the delays and changes made to the project, and for all of those unseen changes in the
near future, this project is setting a precedent
in the technological communities, and offering a valuable resource to the research community.
Anne Rothfeld is currently pursuing a
Ph.D. in Historical Studies, with a concentration in Public History, at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Her dissertation topic is Holocaust survivor's restitution and restitution of Jewish property. Prior to attending UMBC,
Anne received a M.S. in Library and Information Science from Catholic University. Professionally, she has worked as an
archivist at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, and was the Project Director to the scanning and imaging
historical materials at U.S. Mint. Anne's many presentations and publications in the field include a chapter in
The History Highway 2000, a book that discusses online public history and annotates notable sites. She
contributed this article to the Public History Resource Center while she was serving as an associate editor
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