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Robin | 1 Dec 18:10
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RE: sharpening images and OCR

Having used both Omnipage (since about 1995) Abby fine reader, and a
couple of others which came and went, I have to agree about Omnipage.
You really have to go to a professional - level hardware and software
setup to get much better.

And yes - the quality you get out is directly related to the quality of
the original, and if that's bad enough, you'll never be able to get a
good digital result.

Robin Boulton  
IT Manager
St. Charles Public Library District
St. Charles, IL 60174
(630) 584 0076 x 258  
Cell:(630) 918 8738 
http://www.stcharleslibrary.org/
rboulton@... 
-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces@...
[mailto:web4lib-bounces@...] On Behalf Of Gilman, Mark
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 9:28 AM
To: jfitzgibbon@...
Cc: web4lib@...
Subject: [Web4lib] sharpening images and OCR

John,

Omnipage is, for my money, the best of the affordable OCR software
packages. I don't know how mucy Abby Fine Reader is, but we looked at
Flexicapture once, and it was pretty steep. Omnipage starts at around
(Continue reading)

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felicia cheney | 1 Dec 21:10

Question from a non-techie

(Please excuse any cross posting)

Hello Brainy Librarians:

I am curious as to what other public libraries on regional networks using
for connections.  Currently, we serve a community of 4000 in the winter that
jumps to 25,000 in the summer.  We use Innovative Interfaces Millennium
software which is run through our network central office.   We have about 33
libraries running on this regional network (pretty small).  Three of the
smaller libraries are using cable connections with VPN's while the rest of
the libraries are using frame relay through Verizon fractional T1's.

Our particular library uses a partial T1 that gets about 384K download--we
have 10 staff computers (at least 7 in use at the same time).  Due to a
building disaster this previous winter, we were running the library out of
town hall with our connection over the cable which gave us up to a 12mb
download.  Needless to say, that's a pretty big difference and the entire
staff greatly benefited from the increased response time.

However, we are returning to our original T1/frame relay configuration any
minute due to security and bandwidth availability issues on the cable side.

My question is what set-ups do other public libraries have with their
regional networks?  I know the frame relay technology is becoming an old
technology, and I'm curious to see what other innovative libraries have done
out there to deal with the increased requirement for speed.  I realize we
can keep our patrons on the cable/fast side, but it seems silly to slow down
the workers.  It also seems foolish to have to buy separate
printers/scanners for separate networks because you don't want to risk the
security breach of bridging the networks.  There must be some other
(Continue reading)

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Jonathan Bloy | 1 Dec 22:38
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RE: sharpening images and OCR

John Fitzgibbon wrote:
> We have just captured photographs from old newspapers that are on microfilm.
> We are about to put these images on the Web. What software is best for
> enhancing these images? Sometimes, there are black lines going down through the
> image.

Lines like that are common when you scan newspaper and sometimes magazine photos.  Most scanning software
has an option called "de-screen" which should eliminate those lines when you scan the images.

--
Jonathan Bloy
Web Services Librarian
Edgewood College
Madison, Wisconsin
http://library.edgewood.edu/
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Stevens, Julieanne H. | 1 Dec 22:42
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RE: sharpening images and OCR

I've used a program called Thumbs Plus for years, from Cerious software, for images.  It has some very handy
features, including jpg cleanup, batch processing, and the capacity to create "contact sheets" from
your digital image library.  It's affordable and  very user friendly.


Julieanne Hartman Stevens
Reference and  Electronic Resources Librarian
Stetson University College of Law
Law Library
1401 61st Street South
Gulfport, Florida 33707

727-562-7304
Internal extension: 7204
jhsteven <at> law.stetson.edu

"Librarians are librarians: they are not caregivers, nurturers, social workers, surrogate parents,
welfare agents, or therapists. When all is said and done, their role is straightforward: they gather
stuff, impose some order on said stuff, and make the stuff available to the public." Blaise Cronin
  Think Green - don't print this email unless you really need to                

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces <at> webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-bounces <at> webjunction.org] On Behalf Of
Jonathan Bloy
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 4:39 PM
To: web4lib <at> webjunction.org
Cc: John Fitzgibbon
Subject: [Web4lib] RE: sharpening images and OCR

John Fitzgibbon wrote:
(Continue reading)

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Robert Sullivan | 1 Dec 22:47
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Re: RE: sharpening images and OCR

>> We have just captured photographs from old newspapers that are on microfilm.
>> We are about to put these images on the Web. What software is best for
>> enhancing these images? Sometimes, there are black lines going down through the
>> image.
>
> Lines like that are common when you scan newspaper and sometimes magazine photos.  Most scanning software
has an option called "de-screen" which should eliminate those lines when you scan the images.

Since John is working from microfilm, I think he means the lines
caused by decades of wear and tear on the microfilm rather than the
moire effect which can be alleviated by descreening.

--

-- 
Bob Sullivan
Schenectady Digital History Archive
<http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/>
Schenectady County (NY) Public Library
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Thomas Edelblute | 1 Dec 22:52
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RE: Question from a non-techie

Fiber is the fastest technology available, but the most expensive.  This is what you would be looking at
installing if you were to install OC3 or something similar.  If you can build a chain of links within five
miles of each other, there are Free Space Optic (FSO) solution out there.  FSO is a laser beam that provides
near-fiber speed (so the vendors say) but needs line of sight to connect up with, and is susceptible to fog. 
The cable connections with VPN may be your most cost effective solution.  But check with your
communications providers and let them present you with the options available to you.  Don't forget that
many of these services will be eligible for e-rate and other discounts.

Thomas Edelblute
Public Access Systems Coordinator
Anaheim Public Library

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces@...
[mailto:web4lib-bounces <at> webjunction.org] On Behalf Of felicia cheney
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 12:11 PM
To: web4lib@...
Subject: [Web4lib] Question from a non-techie

(Please excuse any cross posting)

Hello Brainy Librarians:

I am curious as to what other public libraries on regional networks using
for connections.  Currently, we serve a community of 4000 in the winter that
jumps to 25,000 in the summer.  We use Innovative Interfaces Millennium
software which is run through our network central office.   We have about 33
libraries running on this regional network (pretty small).  Three of the
smaller libraries are using cable connections with VPN's while the rest of
the libraries are using frame relay through Verizon fractional T1's.
(Continue reading)

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McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] | 1 Dec 23:25
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Making The Web Work For Science | Library of Congress | December 8, 2008 | 9:00am - 4:30pm

Colleagues/

A Major Conference/Workshop That May Be Of Interest ...

/Gerry

Making the Web Work for Science:  The Impact of e-Science and the
Cyberinfrastructure
A One-Day Workshop Co-sponsored by CENDI. NFAIS and FLICC 
Hosted by FLICC at the Library of Congress

e-Science is used to describe computationally intensive science that is
carried out in highly distributed network environments, or science that
uses immense data sets that require grid computing; the term sometimes
includes technologies that enable distributed collaboration."
[Wikipedia]

	

FLICC of the Library of Congress is pleased to host this meeting in the
Library of Congress Mumford Room, 101 Independence Avenue, SE,
Washington, DC, 20540.  This timely and impactful workshop will take
place on Monday, December 8, 2008,  9:00 am - 4:30 pm.

E-Science and the Web will begin with an overview of the current
landscape and how the Web is being utilized for the advancement of
science and scholarly communication.  Following this thoughtful,
high-level perspective, real-life examples will be given of how major
communities such as librarians, publishers, and federal STI program
leaders are using the Web to advance scientific knowledge and scholarly
(Continue reading)

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vctinney | 2 Dec 06:47
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Country Genealogy & Family History Studies:

Country Genealogy & Family History Studies:
Comprehensive Indexing of Family Genealogy
& History Internet Education Directory

BEGIN at:
Ancestor Roots Information: A-Z
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/ancestorrootsinformationdatabases.htm

EXAMPLE: Evaluation format for
sample country is repeated for every
other country in the world, throughout
the Ancestor Roots Information site.
Every available site in the world has been
placed online, with information related to
civil records, culture, genealogy, libraries,
museums, printed country family history
outlines, country studies groups, individual
identity information, indigenous peoples, etc.

Country Selected: ITALY, at:
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/ancestorrootsinformationdatabases.htm#Italy

First Link goes to ITALY, at:
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/regionalgenealogy.htm#Italy
(1) First entry is Wikipedia article on ITALY
(2) Second entry is country profile - Italia
(3) Third entry is Wikipedia Portal:Italy
(4) Fourth entry is Library of Congress
    Portals to the World: Italy
(5) Fifth entry is Genealogy and Population:
(Continue reading)

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Judy McBrian | 2 Dec 17:12
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Germs and public keyboards

In the grand scheme of things related to libraries, this is not a big 
deal, but if you're the one sneezing....

It's that time of year when everyone is sniffling, coughing. etc.
Director is concerned mainly about staff going to pc's to help patrons 
with issues on the computer.
Many of our patrons are teens, and many are not to careful about 
handwashing,etc.
When staff touch an "infected" key board, then because they are busy, 
for get to use
hand sanitize, they catch whatever.
Does anyone use anything to help this situation.  The grocery has wipes 
for cart handles, but wiping a
keyboard that's in use can get pretty funky.  
I've heard of germ killing lights???
Sprays that work, don't gunk up the keyboard, and can actually be 
inhaled by a
living organism???

Any input appreciated.  

Judy McBrian
Boonville Warrick Public Library
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Enrique Rivero | 2 Dec 17:53
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Picon

Re: Germs and public keyboards

Consider arranging for flu shots and educating staff about not touching or rubbing their eyes with germy hands.

Enrique Rivero

>>> Judy McBrian <jbrian@...> 12/2/2008 8:12 AM >>>
In the grand scheme of things related to libraries, this is not a big 
deal, but if you're the one sneezing....

It's that time of year when everyone is sniffling, coughing. etc.
Director is concerned mainly about staff going to pc's to help patrons 
with issues on the computer.
Many of our patrons are teens, and many are not to careful about 
handwashing,etc.
When staff touch an "infected" key board, then because they are busy, 
for get to use
hand sanitize, they catch whatever.
Does anyone use anything to help this situation.  The grocery has wipes 
for cart handles, but wiping a
keyboard that's in use can get pretty funky.  
I've heard of germ killing lights???
Sprays that work, don't gunk up the keyboard, and can actually be 
inhaled by a
living organism???

Any input appreciated.  

Judy McBrian
Boonville Warrick Public Library

_______________________________________________
(Continue reading)

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Gmane