Anjali has led digitization and digital-preservation projects for county offices, libraries and a regional archive: scanners, microfilm, metadata and the storage behind them. She writes the checklists she wishes she’d had on her first project.
How to digitize old photos at home: sort first, scan prints at 600 dpi as TIFF masters, caption the files, and keep three copies, one of them away from home.
How to choose a photo scanner for old photos: flatbed or feeder, real optical resolution, film adapters and bit depth, plus two kits for prints and for film.
What handwritten text recognition can do for old records: OCR vs HTR, training on a clerk's hand, keyword spotting, ground truth, privacy and project planning.
Choosing preservation file formats: TIFF masters, PDF/A parts, JPEG 2000, PNG, CSV and XML, audio and video, plus checksums, fixity and migration planning.
How to scan bound volumes safely: cradles and opening angles, overhead vs flatbed scanners, glass, lighting, FADGI targets, file naming and honest throughput.
