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My library has a large collection (mostly in storage) of old books (not in our circulating collection) which have not been cataloged for a variety of reasons. It's been our concern to get a record of the books for insurance purposes in case of a calamity such as a fire. The easiest plan we have is to take a digital photo of the title page which we can store on CDs or DVDs.
Being a library in a small town, money is important. I've been looking at $100 or thereabouts new cameras on Amazon and just a quick look gave me two Olympuses (FE 210 & FE170), a Canon (A460 powershot) and a Fuji A350, ranging from $90-$114. Megapixels aren't important. But I want to get close enough to the pages for a clear shot. Also wonder if image stabilization would be desirable.
Anybody have suggestions or recommendations?
Thanks.
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Flat bed scanner would take too long. With a digital camera it's a quick snap. The Canon would be excellent. and no you would not need the added expense of image stabilization. Just use the camera on a small tripod for clear photos if hand held would not work. I actually think you could get by without the tripod using a canon and the "macro" setting.
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I second the scanner idea. To do it correctly with the camera, you'll need a copy stand and some lights. I would think you wouldn't want to use the on-board flash at those close distances. It's true with a scanner you may not be able to or not want to open the books flat, but I would think the quality would be good enough for your purposes. Or, what about photocopies and keep them in a binder? With either the scanner or copier you would not have to put the lid down if you are worried about damage to fragile spines, just throw a black cloth over the book to keep out stray light.
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Nah, a cheap camera will do fine. All he needs is a snapshot to prove he once owned the book in case of burglary or fire. I would go with the Canon if I were you. I have a Canon A 540 and love it. I am not sure of the focal length though, you might need to visit a store and ask about that.
Edit: Putting an antique book on a scanner could damage the spine. Not sure what the bright light would do to the cover page either.
Have you thought of talking to your local library? Just about every library in the country has a preservationist on staff.
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[quote Gutenberg]Nah, a cheap camera will do fine. All he needs is a snapshot to prove he once owned the book in case of burglary or fire. I would go with the Canon if I were you. I have a Canon A 540 and love it. I am not sure of the focal length though, you might need to visit a store and ask about that.
Thank you. That's the way I feel about it, too. All he wants is something fast and simple to document ownership. Of course, being readable would be required, but that shouldn't be a problem.
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!!
A Fuji V10 or its successor. Seriously, I bought this camera for about $130 on Amazon and it has a high ISO setting (that may not be a concern to you if you have good lighting) and it does amazing macro photography. In fact, I was experimenting with some text shots and the detail is great. It will NOT keep up with a good macro lens on an SLR, but for your purposes, it is the ideal camera. Oh, and it's got a large LCD, which you will need.
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When you get the camera, spend a little time experimenting with the settings. I noticed an HP camera that has a special setting for photographing documents (but that's not enough to recommend that camera). So experiment with some settings, perhaps contrast.
Lighting is important. If you can set up a light table with light coming from both sides at around 45 degree angles, that will give you more consistently readable results.
Otherwise, I have taken many pictures out of books just using an area of bright, even shade on the back porch. Not perfect, but good enough for PowerPoints.
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Try borrowing a few cameras from friends, or do what my buddy did.
He took some samples to a camera store and took some photos of the samples to do comparisons.
BGnR
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Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.
I realize that the wording at the beginning of my request made it seem like it was for my personal library. It's for the town library and there are over 500 books we need to do this for.
This library was built by William Cullen Bryant and given to the town and the books are from his personal collection. Some quite old, which is why we're not thinking of a scanner. The less handling the better.
Thanks again.
P.S.
I have over a hundred books, i SHOULD do this for my own library. None of them are really valuable but they represent a lot of out-of-pocket expense.
