Book scanning is a way of preserving our literary heritage. There is a whole host of valuable books that are available in The British Library, The Ashmolean Collection and The Heythrop Library. The books and manuscripts in these collections are constantly being researched, and the constant handling if them is not good for their preservation. The physical handling and the changes in ambient temperature will create a process of degradation and thus very valuable books will lose value, and eventually will not be available to future researchers. To preserve these treasures book scanning now plays an important part in their preservation. Of course this is not limited to valuable books, and many new and recent books are now being scanned to ensure that they will preserved for future readers.
Process
The binding of old books may well be weak and thus it is important that they are handled carefully and in most cases the spine is such that the book cannot be laid flat. The scanning can take place by the book being rested inside a V shaped cradle that can then be tilted to allow the camera to photograph the page. Light shining into some of these books is not always good for the paper, and thus the light will be filtered to reduce its intensity. With books where the spine prevents the volume being fully opened the process is quite labour intensive, as each page will need to be manually turned. To preserve the integrity of these books they are scanned in a temperature controlled environment.
Software
The scanning is transmitted to a computer via a USB cable and then stored on the hard drive or an external USB key. Before being stored the image can be cropped, enhanced in terms of depth of print, or reduced in font size, so that the memory space taken up is reduced.
Book scanning is a massive help to researchers and students as they can now access old books, and indeed current books, on-line, normally on payment of a fee.
CrimsonDMS.co.uk specialises in book scanning. Our company provides professional document solutions and all staff have years experience in the field. Visit our site if you need document scanning.