This is how we create image material
Project ONiT explores travelogues printed between 1501 and 1850. The most important prerequisite for our computer-aided analysis is computer-readable material: digital copies. These are mostly provided by the Austrian National Library (ÖNB), partially through the data created in the ABO project. Our project team is, however, constantly enriching our set of pictures, as in the course of the ABO project, foldouts or books of large formats have not been scanned yet. We digitize this material based on ISO 19264, which guarantees the best approach possible in order to digitally represent the physical objects. To give you a better idea of how we do this exactly, we want to provide you with a few pictures of our scanning devices and tools.
Our overhead book scanner in its recently renovated room, customized to the specific requirements of books and scans alike, produces files in uncompressed TIFF format and in a resolution of 600 ppi in just a few seconds.
If formats are larger than DIN A1, we have to improvise with additional supplies or, if there is no other way, we stitch two seperate scans together through an image editor.
We also use foam underlays, put on the two-part book cradle, to protect the cover and the spine.
A glass plate, which is used only if the spine is in good condition, flattens the pages and enables even scans.
Alternatively, we use a so-called Munich book finger out of glass to flatten the page. The color bar underneath facilitates the accurate representation of colors.
All scans will be available online in the catalogue of the ÖNB.
Jakob Ehmann, 23.11.2023