[Digitalarchivists] Noisebridge DIY Book Scanner

Mon Jun 17 17:20:20 UTC 2013

Jude, Daniel & Noisebridge DA-List,

I'm still out of state, but finally at a computer fit for writing emails
which my limited patience for dinky touchscreens will not permit.

Those software tweaks sound like an excellent fit for our purposes, and
perhaps kit scanners worldwide, as internet connectivity is not necessarily
a guarantee in all scanning circumstances.  It's also nice to know that one
or more components of the archive.org hardware/software suite are
retoolable at all.  Can that be taken to mean that these things are
entirely open source?  If so, is there publicly available documentation
detailing this equipment and the software behind it?  One of the end goals
of Noisebridge's book scanning endeavors is, loosely put, to develop
hardware, software and operation standards to which all other hackerspaces
and their scanners can adhere.  From conversations so far with both Daniel
and IA people, that appears to be a shared goal.

I can't personally make a trip to Richmond until at least a few days after
I get back (20th), as I'll be moving my life out of one San Francisco
hobble and into another.  We do have several folks in our ranks who have
expressed a willingness to travel, whether to the Archive, Ace Monster
Toys, etc.  I'll leave it to them to speak up if that's a trip one or more
are willing/able to make.  Purely out of self interest, I propose that
meeting take place closer to the end of this month or the beginning of
next, so as to remain as personally involved as possible.

We haven't settled on a Powershot model as of yet.  That search was ongoing
until news came of being loaned Canon DSLRs from the Books dept. at IA. I
assume our "beta testing" will benefit from the use of more than one camera
model.  Seems like we ought to seek out Powershots just to have on hand.
 Do you, Jude, or other Books people have any insights into the merits of
one model or another?  I've done my own exploring/conversating in this
DIYBookScanner
thread <http://www.diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2569> but
there does not seem to be a consensus on a single gold standard so far.

With all the developments as of late, we (the Noisebridge Digital
Archivists group) are definitely due for another general meeting.  That
will likely be the first order of business upon my return to SF, post-move.
 I'll send out another dispatch once the date's been set.  I extend to you,
Jude, the same invitation I have to Daniel, which is to Skype into that
meeting and/or simply subscribe to the DA mailing
list<https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Digital_Archivists> if
you'd like to stay extra-current with our goings on.

With great anticipation,

-Danny N.

On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 11:56 PM, Jude Coelho <judec at archive.org> wrote:

>  Hi Danny,
>
> I wanted to give you an update on where things stand. I ordered a PC (the
> same model we use on our scribes) and it should be here before the end of
> the week. I plan to put our software on there and then set a few switches
> in the software that are designed to allow our scribes to function in the
> event of a network outage. This will allow the software to work without a
> connection to archive.org's database. I don't believe that should take
> more than a day, so I think, if it's good for you, we can probably meet up
> some time later next week or early the following week and so I can give you
> the PC, the cameras, and some training in using our software. I'm also
> excited to check out the scanner.
>
> After that, I think you're definitely going to want to make some
> modifications to the software, and I'd be glad to help or advise with that
> in any way I can. We can discuss it in more detail, but to briefly
> summarize our process, our software is designed to produce a tarball of
> images along with an xml file containing metadata about cropping,
> deskewing, and rotation of the images (and some structural metadata about
> page numbers and page types optionally captured during image capture). This
> metadata is used on our servers, once a book is uploaded, to perform those
> actions on the raw images, producing the final formats that you see on
> archive.org. While you're of course welcome to upload anything you scan
> to archive.org, wait for it to process, and then download it, I assume
> you'd also like to be able to produce finished scans independent of our
> servers (and we would like to see that happen as well).
>
> Would you be able to meet at our Physical Archive in Richmond? That's
> where the cameras are, and also where my colleague Sean is based. He will
> have some ideas for mounting the cameras.
>
> I'm also very interested in seeing how the software works with the Canon
> Powershots you guys have. Do you have the model number of those, by the
> way? I would like to look at the specs online.
>
> I'll email you again as soon as the PC arrives so we can set a date. Are
> you still out of town? If so, is there someone else I should email about
> this?
>
> Thanks, and I look forward to working together.
>
> -Jude
>
> Jude Coelho
> Process Manager
> Internet Archive
>
> On 5/28/13 10:55 AM, Jude Coelho wrote:
>
> Hi Danny,
>
> After you left on Friday, I heard back on an email I had sent to Daniel
> Reetz a week earlier, and he suggested we contact Noisebridge and look into
> working together since you had one of the kits. Synchronicity!
>
> Let me see what Robert has to say about the time frame and I'll get back
> to you asap. His email is CCed here btw.
>
> Jude Coelho
> Process Manager
> Internet Archive
>
> On 5/24/13 6:17 PM, newmy51 at gmail.com wrote:
>
> Hi Jude,
>
>  I write you now from Noisebridge, just beneath the shelf currently home
> to the mostly-assembled Reetz kit scanner.  An update has gone out to the
> Digital Archivists mailing list (
> https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Digital_Archivists) with a recap of our
> attendance today at IA and the accompanying discussions with yourself,
> Robert and Jason Scott.  Though I will almost certainly be out of town for
> the occasion, we'd like to put together a time when the kit can be brought
> to IA and outfitted with the necessary equipment and/or software to begin
> the "beta testing" we discussed this afternoon.  The only way I could
> personally participate in that meeting would be if it took place this
> coming Tuesday, which I realize may be too short of notice.  Either way,
> get back to me when you can with what works for you and we'll plan
> accordingly.  And of course, thank you, again, for your advice, generosity,
> and interest in our project and its progress.  We look forward to working
> with you.
>
>  Very Best.
>
>  -Danny N.
>
>  PS:  Please forward this onto Robert as well (I don't have his email
> address).
>
>
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