The general philosophy of this project is that we are scanning historical images. The digital version should not appear significantly different than the actual document.

• Historical images frequently have imperfections such as tears or holes. These should not be altered or fixed.
• Do not crop the image to cut out parts of the image. You might not include the frame or edge of the image, but you should not substantially alter the image.

These specifications are taken from the OhioLINK Digital Media Center’s "Scanning Standards and Guidelines," http://www.ohiolink.edu/media/dmcinfo/metadata.html. All scanning done for the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook must meet these minimum requirements.

All materials scanned for Ohio Memory must be scanned as TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files. It is recommended that items be scanned as color but bitonal (black and white), and grayscale TIFF images will be accepted.

The chart above lists minimum scanning standards. In some cases it may be necessary and desirable to scan at higher resolutions. Documents that might require scanning at a higher resolution include those with very small characters or fine print and that are rare and/or fragile, such as a one-of-a-kind brittle manuscript.

• with very small characters or fine print
• that are rare and/or fragile, such as a one-of-a-kind brittle manuscript

Derivative images are commonly used for general web access instead of high-resolution images. Examples include small "thumbnail" images, which might be only 100 pixels square, and "reference" or "service" images, which should fit completely within an average monitor. Images created for this purpose commonly are smaller in size and load quickly, even without a fast network connection. They are generally saved in a web-viewable format such as JPEG or GIF. The Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook will include both derivative and high-resolution image files. Derivative images will be likely the most heavily used. OhioLINK, which will store image files for the scrapbook, has software that automatically generates both thumbnail and service images.

There are subjective decisions that may influence how materials should be digitized. For instance, a black-and-white typed document may contain annotations in pencil or red ink. Though bitonal scanning is normally sufficient for typed documents, color scanning may be preferred in this case.

A representative subset of any collection should be digitized prior to production to determine whether these recommendations provide acceptable results for intended uses, such as viewing on screen or printing.

Scanners operate best when used around a consistent, fairly dim light source. Different scanners will produce different results, as will different commercial scanning vendors. Quality control throughout a scanning project is vital.

Fragile, rare and delicate historical materials are being scanned in this project. Nothing should damage or jeopardize the materials during the digitization process. Project staff designed the following rules with this concern in mind.

• Historical materials should be stored in a safe area, out of direct light. When they are to be scanned, remove items from protected area. If leaving the scanner and materials for any length of time, be sure to place materials out of harm's way (i.e. on cart, in folders, etc.).
• Absolutely no food or drink should be consumed near the scanners or the materials.
• Absolutely no pens should be used near materials. Use pencils only.
• White gloves should be used whenever handling materials.

If you have any questions, please contact Ohio Memory Project staff at ohiomemory@ohiohistory.org or (614) 297-2589.