Case Studies

Archive Pro at the Hessian State Archives

Posted on 3. March 202120. December 2022 by multiadmin

German Federal
Document Safeguarding
Project

According to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, the German Federal and State Archives have scanned and microfilmed their most valuable collections since 1961. The microfilming is carried out on behalf of the Federation under the leadership of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK). The archive material is security-filmed on microfilm in accordance with selection criteria defined by the Federal Government and in compliance with specified technical standards.

Hessian State Archives Wiesbaden exterior view

“Regarding the German Federal Safeguarding Project, I can look back on a very successful year, in which you and your company played a major role.”

Dr. Johann Zilien
The Hessian State Archives, Wiesbaden

The Hessian State Archives in numbers

Over 2,000

film containers

500 years of

expected
storage

21 million meters

microfilm material

Project background

As part of the conversion of the microfilming devices to digital technology, which was agreed between the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) and the Conference of Heads of the Federal and State Archives Administrations (KLA), four of the German state archives involved have already decided to purchase a total of 12 book2net high-performance archive scanners.

book2net Cobra A1 V-shape book scanner training in the Hessian State Archives

book2net action

The state archives of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine Westphalia and the Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation are the first institutions to have opted for our newly developed high-performance archive scanner book2net Archive Pro. The Archive Pro, developed in close cooperation with our customers as a hybrid scanning system, combines the functionality of a variable repro system with the user-friendliness, reliability and performance of an archive scanner. This unique versatility is particularly advantageous when digitizing heterogeneous collections. From mass digitization to individual conservational scans: As single device, the book2net Archive Pro covers a large number of tasks that would otherwise require different special scanners.

Results

The first systems have been in use since the beginning of 2020. The projects were awarded in the course of tenders, in which, despite cheaper competitive products, we were able to prevail due to our unique technical features, versatility and outstanding quality.

About the Archive Pro

systems used

Further case studies

Copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the safe room of the Gutenberg Museum Mainz

Gutenberg Bible Mainz

Digitization of the choir book of the Carmelites from the Cathedral Museum Mainz (shelfmark B 330 C, CC0). Photo/©: D. Ghemires

Medieval Manuscripts Project

Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln - Neubau Außenansicht

Securing the holdings of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne

Cobra A2 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer

Cooperation with the National Library of Uzbekistan

Hybrid Scanning Systems – Federal Archives

A1 Reprographic Studio at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Falcons for the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan

Exterior view of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Dubai

Installation at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Dubai

Long-term cooperation with the LMU

Archive Pro at the Hessian State Archives

The National Archives exterior vie entry

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Two Mosquito for the Royal Library of Denmark

Dragon & Lizard at the National Library of Poland

Large-format scanner at the Irish Newspaper Archives

rish Architectural Archive exterior rear view

A1 Repro Stand at the Irish Architectural Archive

Case Studies

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Posted on 3. March 202121. December 2022 by multiadmin

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Guarding over a thousand years of national documents, The National Archives take a special role in the preservation of its country’s history. They are the official publisher for the UK government, England, and Wales, and emerged between 2003 and 2006 as a joined cooperation between four government organizations: the
Public Record Office, the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, and the Office of Public Sector Information. Today, they collect and manage government information, maintaining
everything from “Shakespeare’s will to tweets from Downing Street.”

“We are very pleased with the results so far […]. Ensuring access to our collection is central to our mission, so revealing text that has faded beyond our physical ability to read is a significant advancement for our team and our audiences.”

The National Archives Blog, June 2019

The National Archives in numbers

1,000

years of British history

185 km

of shelving

11 million+

objects

Project background

With a comprehensive collection of manuscripts, maps and documents, The National Archives are keen on guaranteeing thorough object preservation as well as providing extensive research opportunities. In search of a Multispectral Imaging System (MSI) which would be accessible by all staff members instead of imaging specialists only, TNA issued a corresponding tender. With the help of the MSI they hoped to increase the readability of manuscripts written in faded ink, identify unknown pigments for restoration and detect underdrawings and hidden layers in paintings. Winning the tender, book2net enabled TNA to do so.

Visualization of writing and inks using book2net multispectral system

Book2Net Action

By installing our innovative Multispectral Imaging System in March 2019 and instructing the staff on how to operate the system, TNA were given a handy equipment for digitization and restoration. The bespoke solution now continues to simplify archivists’ lives and gives them a new research tool. The next large project that was enabled is the “BT 43 Designs on Demand” project, with almost 3 million designs to be evaluated.

Results

First results have been achieved, such as the identification of a pigment in the BT registers. Also, the legibility of old documents written in iron gall ink was successfully increased and has therefore been of great help to researchers. Satisfied with the equipment, the National Archives can now embark on a journey to restoration and research.

about the mutlispectral imaging system

The National Archives blog entries

Collection Care welcomes a new multispectral imaging system

Smoke and mirrors:

Revealing the Gunpowder Plot through heritage science

Watermarks:

New ways to see and search them

Further case studies

Gutenberg Bible Mainz

Medieval Manuscripts Project

Securing the holdings of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne

Cobra A2 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer

Cooperation with the National Library of Uzbekistan

Hybrid Scanning Systems – Federal Archives

A1 Reprographic Studio at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum

Falcons for the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan

Installation at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Dubai

Long-term cooperation with the LMU

Archive Pro at the Hessian State Archives

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Two Mosquito for the Royal Library of Denmark

Dragon & Lizard at the National Library of Poland

Large-format scanner at the Irish Newspaper Archives

A1 Repro Stand at the Irish Architectural Archive

Case Studies

Two Mosquito for the Royal Library of Denmark

Posted on 1. March 202121. December 2022 by multiadmin

Two Mosquito
for the Royal Library of Denmark

Det Kongelige Bibliotek, the Royal Library of Denmark, is the Danish National Library and also the University Library of the University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in Scandinavia and also one of the largest in the world. Today, the library has five sites, the major ones being in Copenhagen and Aarhus and holds many unique manuscripts, for example by famous Danish fairytale author H. C. Andersen.

“We are quite pleased with the results. The devices have done a great job so far!”

Martin Lund
Digitization Specialist

The Royal Library in numbers

36,975,069

print media

2,438,978

electronic media

300,000

digitized newspaper pages

Project background

For a long time the Royal Library had focused on microfilming in order to make their vast collections, especially the extensive newspaper stocks, available via the Mediestream.dk platform. When the Library decided to take their digitization program one step further, they issued a tender for large format devices. book2net was able to provide them with exactly what they needed.

book2net Mosquito A1 book scanner in the Danish National Library (Det Kongelige Bibliotek)

book2net Action

When the two book2net Mosquito scanners were installed in 2016, intensive training was carried out for the library staff to ensure that they are no longer dependent on the help of external specialists when carrying out projects with our scanners.

Results

To date our two book2net Mosquito scanners have been used at the Aarhus site to fill gaps in the existing microfilm archive for newspapers. They also helped to establish a “scan-on-demand” service for library visitors. Over 300,000 newspaper pages have been digitized so far and made available via mediestream.dk.Mediamstream.dk zur Verfügung gestellt.

See Mosquito

Further case studies

Gutenberg Bible Mainz

Medieval Manuscripts Project

Securing the holdings of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne

Cobra A2 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer

Cooperation with the National Library of Uzbekistan

Hybrid Scanning Systems – Federal Archives

A1 Reprographic Studio at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum

Falcons for the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan

Installation at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Dubai

Long-term cooperation with the LMU

Archive Pro at the Hessian State Archives

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Two Mosquito for the Royal Library of Denmark

Dragon & Lizard at the National Library of Poland

Large-format scanner at the Irish Newspaper Archives

A1 Repro Stand at the Irish Architectural Archive

Case Studies

Dragon & Lizard at the National Library of Poland

Posted on 1. March 202124. October 2022 by multiadmin

Customized solutions for the National Library of Poland

The Biblioteka Narodowa a Waszawie was founded after Poland’s independence in 1918 and opened in 1930. However, the precious collections, which also include the library of the famous Wilanów Palace, suffered considerable losses during the German occupation in 1944.The National Library is one of the most important cultural institutions in Poland and holds about 162,000 old prints, over 26,000 manuscripts, 120,000 printed music and 130,000 atlases and maps, including parts of the famous Codex Suprasliensis. As a major research institution and main archive of Polish literature, the library shares all digitized data via the website Polona i Academica .

The National Library of Poland in numbers

8,800.000

objects

800

employees

1000+

Digitized objects per day

Project background

Our cooperation with the Polish National Library began in October 2016 when they were looking for a partner to carry out the planned digitization project “Patrimonium – Digitalization and Access to the Polish National Heritage from the Collections of the National Library and the Jagiellonian Library.”

The initiator of the project was the National Library, which has been very active in the field of digitization for many years and makes its resources accessible in electronic form. The implementation of this new major project represents an enormous quantitative and qualitative advance in digital access to the most valuable and oldest collections of Polish literature.

The 652,000 objects that will be digitized in this project are extremely diverse. The most valuable group comprises the collection of 305 copies of old atlases, including the oldest work, a valuable Strasbourg edition of the Geographia of Claudius Ptolemy from 1522.

Show scans

Employee of the Polish National Library at the book2net Dragon

BOOK2NET ACTION

The digitization of these valuable collections posed a particular challenge for us as developers and manufacturers of scanning technology. A solution had to be found that is particularly gentle, but at the same time offers the highest possible resolution so that the digital copies also meet the requirements of detailed further research. In addition, the desired system should deliver high productivity due to the tight project timeframe.

Our newly developed A1 scanners exceeded the expectations of our customers in terms of quality, productivity and variability: Freely selectable setting parameters allow individual recording positions as well as standardized, productive work processes. The variable angle adjustment of the camera position guarantees exact scan results in the book fold and overlap area. Our LED lighting concept (UV/IR free) ensures outstanding illumination. The V-shape support can be precisely set at an angle from 80° up to 120° in combination with corresponding panes.

The book2net team manufactured and tested the required scanning systems within just three months. All devices were installed, checked and calibrated on site within eight days, including training of the staff.

Results

A total of 19 book2net systems (17 Lizard and 2 Dragon systems) were delivered to the National Library and installed in April 2018. They have been in continuous operation ever since to meet the objectives of the Patrimonium project. The book2net team is proud to have made a contribution to the digitization of unique and valuable cultural treasures in Poland, so that they are available to a broader public as well as further scientific research.

See Dragon See Lizard

FURTHER CASE STUDIES

Gutenberg Bible Mainz

Medieval Manuscripts Project

Securing the holdings of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne

Cobra A2 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer

Cooperation with the National Library of Uzbekistan

Hybrid Scanning Systems – Federal Archives

A1 Reprographic Studio at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum

Falcons for the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan

Case Studies

Large-format scanner at the Irish Newspaper Archives

Posted on 25. February 202125. October 2022 by multiadmin

High-Performance Scanning at the Irish Newspaper Archives

For decades, the Irish Newspaper Archives, along with their sister company MicroMedia Ltd, have been turning their large collection of newspapers into microfilm. With the age of digitalization offering a new level of accessibility, their online database has become the largest digital newspaper archive in Ireland, offering digital scans of currently 18 titles, with more than 9 million pages of news, spanning 245 years.

Stacks of newspaper volumes in the depot of the Irish Newspaper Archives

“With the Flash A1 scanner, our scan productivity has increased by 75% over the existing large volume scanners we had in place.”

Jonathan Martin

The Irish National Archives in numbers

300+ years

of Irish history

6 million+

newspaper pages

6,000

digitized pages per day

Project background

book2net Flash A1 at Irish Newspaper Archives

MICROBOX cameras have been used at the INA since the early 1970s, helping create their extensive microfilm archive. MICROBOX technologies have been found to be exceptionally reliable and durable. One particular camera had been in use for almost 30 years, and unsurpassed by comparable newer products, when the arrival of sophisticated scanning technologies finally rendered it obsolete. In the early 2000s, Microfilm cameras were replaced by flatbed scanners. Since then, the INA has used many different models from MICROBOX, the latest of which is the Flash A1.

book2net action

In order to achieve higher productivity when carrying out their digitization projects while at the same time guaranteeing the highest image quality and user-friendliness, the Irish Newspaper Archives were looking for high-end large format scanners. Book2net was able to meet these requirements perfectly with the Flash A1, which enables time-saving double-sided scans up to DIN A2 format. The efficient software can also automatically combine scans of individual A1 pages in a user-friendly manner.

Upgrade with book2net Hornet A0
After successfully using our Flash A1 system, the archive management opted for our A0 system as well. In addition to the expanded format option, which now allows the double-sided scanning of formats up to DIN A1, the dual sensor technology of the book2net Hornet also significantly improves the image quality.

Results

Fast processing, easy large-format scanning and a user-friendly interface are the key features for enhanced productivity, combined with careful handling and the guarantee of constant image quality for further use of the data in the online archive. Those are realized by our large-format scanning systems Flash A1 and Hornet A0. The scan rate for newspapers up to DIN A1 format could be doubled due to the faster two-sided capturing.

About the Flash

Further case studies

Gutenberg Bible Mainz

Medieval Manuscripts Project

Securing the holdings of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne

Cobra A2 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer

Cooperation with the National Library of Uzbekistan

Hybrid Scanning Systems – Federal Archives

A1 Reprographic Studio at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum

Falcons for the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan

Installation at the Mohammed bin Rashid Library Dubai

Long-term cooperation with the LMU

Archive Pro at the Hessian State Archives

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

Two Mosquito for the Royal Library of Denmark

Dragon & Lizard at the National Library of Poland

Large-format scanner at the Irish Newspaper Archives

A1 Repro Stand at the Irish Architectural Archive

Case Studies

A1 Repro Stand at the Irish Architectural Archive

Posted on 25. February 202121. December 2022 by multiadmin

Image Quality meets Cost Efficiency at the Irish Architectural Archive

Cartlann Ailtireachta na hÉireann, the Irish Architectural Archive, was established in 1976 to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of Ireland and make it available to the public. With 2.5 million drawings ranging in date from the late seventeenth to the twentieth centuries the collection of the Irish Architectural Archive includes the most significant body of historic Irish architectural drawings in the world. Also housed in the Archive are
500,000 photographs, making this one of the largest collections of photographs in Ireland.

“We are delighted with the X71. The results are beyond our highest expectations.”

Colum O’Riordan
CEO, Irish Architectural Archive

The Irish Architectural Archive in numbers

2.5 million

drawings and documents

500,000

photographs

30,000

books and journals

Project background

Until the end of 2017 the Irish Architectural Archive was working with photographers for commissioned work on demand, which was associated with high costs per item. Thanks to grants from the Department of Culture and an architect whose collection the Archive is holding in their premises, the Irish Architectural Archive was able to invest in their own digitization equipment,

book2net A1 reprographic studio in the Irish Architectural Archive

book2net action

The installation of an A1 repro system equipped with our X71 camera in April 2018 was the starting point for the digitization of the collection, with the architecture publications from the Rowan collection being scanned first for a current exhibition project. It soon became clear that working with the book2net system was the most productive solution, enabling forensic analyses due to the excellent image quality. The high resolution of the X71 camera made even the finest lines on the originals visible and made it possible to produce high-quality enlargements for printing exhibition posters.

Results

First results with enhanced image analysis have been successfully achieved. The Irish Architectural Archive is now able to open its collection to the wider public and scholars. The next major project will be the digitization of the outstanding photographic collection, which holds about 500.000 items and is one of the largest in Ireland.

About the repro stand

German FederalDocument SafeguardingProject

“Regarding the German Federal Safeguarding Project, I can look back on a very successful year, in which you and your company played a major role.”

The Hessian State Archives in numbers

Over 2,000

500 years of

21 million meters

Project background

book2net action

Results

systems used

8 archive scanners

2 archive scanners

1 V-shape archive scanner

1 reprographic camera

Further case studies

Multispectral Imaging System at The National Archives

“We are very pleased with the results so far […]. Ensuring access to our collection is central to our mission, so revealing text that has faded beyond our physical ability to read is a significant advancement for our team and our audiences.”

#text-3972313690 { font-size: 1.5rem; line-height: 1.25; text-align: center; }

The National Archives in numbers

1,000

185 km

11 million+

Project background

Book2Net Action

Results

The National Archives blog entries

Collection Care welcomes a new multispectral imaging system

Smoke and mirrors:

Watermarks:

Further case studies

Two Mosquitofor the Royal Library of Denmark

“We are quite pleased with the results. The devices have done a great job so far!”

The Royal Library in numbers

36,975,069

2,438,978

300,000

Project background

book2net Action

Results

Further case studies

Customized solutions for the National Library of Poland

The National Library of Poland in numbers

8,800.000

800

1000+

Project background

BOOK2NET ACTION

Results

FURTHER CASE STUDIES

High-Performance Scanning at the Irish Newspaper Archives

“With the Flash A1 scanner, our scan productivity has increased by 75% over the existing large volume scanners we had in place.”

The Irish National Archives in numbers

300+ years

6 million+

6,000

Project background

book2net action

Results

Further case studies

German Federal
Document Safeguarding
Project

Two Mosquito
for the Royal Library of Denmark