Damage caused by Hand-held scanners

[Robert J Tiess]

Glenn Remelts <remelt at legacy.calvin.edu> writes:
>My question: Should the archivist be concerned? If not, does
>anyone know where we can locate a document (or documents)
>that conclusively says scanning with a hand-held scanner is not
>harmful. 

Glenn, it all really depends on the quality (physical, not literary!)
of the manuscript--if it's fairly degraded or if the paper is of a
light stock, there is always an excellent chance for a handscanner
to do some damage--or at worst destroy-- to a manuscript.  This
very same issue came up when myself and two other librarians
applied for a grant which would have involved digitizing local
history materials and making them available via the web for
a limited time.  Unfortunately, the grant, which was statewide and
of highly competitve nature (aren't they all these days?), did not
go through.  However, it was a learning experience for all those
involved, including the primary school teachers who were to
have worked with us on this project.

The handscanner's abrasive nature, the physical act of sliding
plastic over a potentially delicate manuscript, should get any
archivist concerned.  I would advise that a flatbed scanner be
used instead: less abrasion.  But with flatbed scanning comes
the other issue of binding:  As you know, when photocopying
a document, a book must be opened and pressed against the
glass.  With bigger books with degraded/damaged binding, this
could be the last straw for them, and they may incur further
damage.  The same goes for flatbed scanners.  So, there is still
something to be concerned for archivists, institutions, et al.

The new breed of digitizers, digital cameras, seem to be an
interesting new way of capturing documents.  The higher
resolution (i.e. most expensive) of the cameras should be
able to handle OCR from what I have heard.  And that would be
ideal for manuscripts that are of an extreme physically-delicate
nature.  I've also read, on this list or elsewhere, there are
copiers/units that offer gentler book photocopying.  Since
OCR and copier technology has already merged, archivists of
old/sensitive manuscripts will have more affordable options in
the (hopefully) near future.  Minimizing contact and pressure
on the pages and binding should be paramount to anyone 
involved in any maniscriptural digitizing situation.

				Robert
				rjtiess at juno.com

Robert J. Tiess
Lib. Tech., Webmaster
Middletown Thrall Library - http://www.thrall.org
Literacy Volunteers of America - http://www.thrall.org/lva