Midlands Historical Data Information

We are a small non-profit organisation based in the Midlands of the United Kingdom. We have been scanning local history books and directories since mid-2003. It started because of a chance comment from an archivist on the impossibility of managing a local history library on a tight budget split across 3 locations. Creating digital copies and making them available on the internet seemed like the obvious answer. It has other advantages too:- A little research revealed that to achieve this we needed the best equipment. Flatbed scanners destroy books simply because any book has to be turned over as many times as there are pages in the book. We use two scanners: the Bookeye scanner from ImageWare Gmbh, and the BookDrive DIY from Atiz. Both produce excellent quality images without damaging the books. We have now scanned #no# books, so we have a substantial Midlands local history library available for you to view. We have tried to create indexes and search mechanisms to enable you to find exactly what you are looking for, and will continue to refine our approach. This project is as much about creating useable historical data for our region as it is about creating images of the books - hence the title of our company : Midlands Historical Data.