The Client
Cork City & County Archives purpose is to acquire and properly preserve local archives in all formats and make them accessible for research. Their archives hold over 1,040 collections. These collections vary in size and nature and contain bound volumes of written documents as well as maps and architectural drawings and several thousand photographs.
The Problem
To improve access to and to help preserve historical and delicate documents, the decision was taken by the archives to digitally capture some of its most important historical collections. Two of the collections chosen were the Bandon Town Council Minute Book Collection and the Cemetery Register Collection.
What We Did
Brandon Town Council Minute Book Collection
The collection comprised of 13 volumes in total, 11 of which were bound volumes between A3 and A2 in size, with each volume containing between 250–300 pages.
All the volumes were captured in full colour and presented in folio format at 300dpi preservation master TIFF. The volumes were captured using our bespoke book scanner and passed through our image fixing software to provide a fully readable and coherent image. Derivative watermarked PDFs were created at 150dpi to allow for easy upload to the internet and for access use.
Cemetery Register Collection
The collection dates back to the early 19th Century and was made up of 4 volumes of 500 pages each, which were approximately A2 in size.
All the volumes were captured in full colour and presented in folio format at 300dpi preservation master TIFF. The volumes were captured using our bespoke book scanner and passed through our image fixing software to provide a fully readable and coherent image. Derivative watermarked PDFs were created at 125dpi to allow for easy upload to the internet and for access use.
The Benefits
- The collections have been protected from any future damage that may have been caused through excess handling
- A digital backup has been created ensuring there will always remain a permanent record of the collections
- Access to the collection’s content is now faster and easier
- Multiple researchers can access the volume’s content at the same time