Lending large format scanning services to the local community

How a museum helps a historical society with local heritage preservation

Can a scanner support a whole community?

Talbot Historical Society in Maryland, USA, have visited Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) to borrow their new large format contact-free Contex scanner HD Apeiron/42.

This means that they have been able to digitize fragile documents and maps for their new online database – even the large-sized documents and maps.

“We are so grateful to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum for sharing their state of the art scanner with us! With their help, we are able to scan large documents and maps in our collection. This process, combined with our new online database available through our website talbothistory.org, will allow these documents to be accessible to the public. Thank you so much!!” is what they posted on their Facebook page:

Large format scanner for fragile documents Facebook post form Talbot Historical Society

Facebook post by Talbot Historical Society, click the image to see the original post.

Lots of happy community members joining the conversation: “What a wonderful way for our community resources to be shared! Thanks to all involved for helping protect and remember our local history,” commented by Oxford Maryland Events.

“Very cool”, “That’s wonderful” and “Kindness and community ❤“.

Sharing of large format scanner - Talbot Historical Society Facebook post comments

Facebook post comments, click the image to see the original post.

 

The intention of sharing the scanner with the community as much as possible was there right from the start for CBMM.

“We will be opening up for people to come in and make appointments. That’s a door that really can only be open through having this almost limitless capability to digitize kind of anything.”

Gabriella Cantelmo

Assistant Curator,
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Sharing is caring – and that was the plan all along

When investing in their new HD Apeiron/42 contact-free scanner, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum already had it in their plans to offer scanning services to the local community.

From day one, they were intended and committed to presenting this service. And now other local museums, libraries, and institutions that have oversized items know where to go.

“We will be opening up for people to come in and make appointments. That’s a door that really can only be open through having this almost limitless capability to digitize kind of anything,” says Gabriella Cantelmo, Assistant Curator at CBMM.

Preservation and public accessibility

Talbot Historical Society was founded in 1954, just two years after the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Seeking a balance between growth and preservation, the Talbot Historical Society stands among the organizations formed by citizens to preserve the heritage of the Eastern Shore.

With the help from CBMM and their HD Apeiron/42 scanner, and combined with a new online database available through their website, Talbot Historical Society’s collection of large documents and maps will be easily accessible to the public.

Top image: Waterman tonging off of the Enniskillen estate on the Tred Avon River near Oxford, Maryland. Photo from the Hollyday Collection 1938, Talbot Historical Society.

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