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Pillar Of The Community
United States
808 Posts |
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It always seems as though there is no gray area, or perchance, that is known as the fine line. |
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Member of the Central Oregon Stamp Club.
Redmond, OR 97756 Mailer's Postmark Permit #1
APS 239403 |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2948 Posts |
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I had to revisit this thread to point out something that has been mentioned in a previous thread - the United States Philatelic Classics Library (USPCS) has digitized a number of out-of-print books that (I assume) are beyond copyright protection, and are available to anyone to download for free. http://www.uspcs.org/resource-cente...nic-library/There are a number of good books worth your time, but I wanted to mention the Neinken plating books in particular, since I previously made the point that digitized copies could generate more interest in specialization. Thanks to Billw2, et al for providing the reference! Brian |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
5894 Posts |
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Yes, they are doing great work! I highly encourage every classic US collector to read the Brookman book on US 19th Century stamps. Just fascinating! |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1225 Posts |
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I contacted The United States Philatelic Classics Society (USPCS) about what resources it took to accomplish the digitizing of those books. He indicated that with the technology available today the challenge was not that bad. He also mentioned the APRL is in the process of doing the same. It seems that more good things are coming from the APS. He further suggested that the process would go quicker with more volunteers willing to help.
Time for talking may be over and time for doing is here.
Stupid me, I didn't save the e-mail and can't provide the responders name but he was very quick to respond.
Art |
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A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The exact & entire wording of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
6430 Posts |
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Yep. Technology isn't the challenge, it's man hours and quality control that are usually the biggest stumbling blocks.
For example, when I started working on the ARA archive, the first 9 years or so of issues I had to work with had been scanned by someone else and they were scanned using different equipment than mine and using settings I would not have used. So trying to get decent image quality with a minimum of artifacts and good OCR accuracy was much more challenging than the issues I scanned myself, where I have control over the process from start to finish.
When starting with someone else's scan, there's only so much you can redo or tweak. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1225 Posts |
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Dan,
That's where standardization comes into play. Using the same compatible hardware, same software and same settings are just the start of it and time is the biggest resource needed.
Art |
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A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The exact & entire wording of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) |
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Moderator
United States
12330 Posts |
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There are two types of digitization; destructive and non-destructive. If digitizing in a non- destructive way you have to post-process out the shading of the page where it meets the binding. You also must decide what resolution you want to scan at, typically OCR responds best to 600 d.p.i.
And of course the final file format needs to be decided upon, PDF is a common choice. Security si also usually a consideration. A digitized book can be secured in all kinds of ways and at all kinds of cost. At one end of the scale there can be no security at all. Users can print, 'cut and copy', and/or replicate the content without any hindrance. On the other end of the scale a digitized book can carry all kinds of security restrictions (and frankly be a pain-in-the-butt to use and support) which prevent easy copying of the content.
don
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Rest in Peace
United States
1225 Posts |
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I contacted the APRL concerning the digitizing of some titles in the library yesterday. I got a response within a couple of hours from the APRL Librarian herself, Ms. Tara Murray.
This is her reply.
Art,
We have digitized some publications, and we also add links to digital publications available from other sources to our catalog. To see what's available now, go to the library catalog and select "Online" from the drop down box to limit your search to digital materials.
We are focusing our efforts on materials that 1) are not a copyright issue (in the public domain, or the rights holder has given us permission, or the APS/APRL owns the rights) 2) are of broad interest and use to APS members 3) are not available for borrowing because of rarity or condition.
If you have suggestions for books that we should consider digitizing, I would welcome them. We can also use monetary donations toward scanning equipment or outsourcing digitization. It looks like you are a little far away to volunteer to scan, but if you visit Bellefonte we'd be happy to put you to work!
Best,
Tara
There are 3 take aways.
1) They are already in the process of doing this
2) On site scanning only - Meaning at the Match Factory
3) They need either local volunteers or donations and time.
In as I am not that close to Bellefonte I sent them a small donation specifically for this project. I figure its time to put up or shut up. Any others feel the same?
Art |
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A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The exact & entire wording of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2948 Posts |
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EDIT:
I checked out the site. It appears that APS wants to charge for the use of digitized books? If I understand the fee structure, it is $10/book and an additional $5 for non-members. Can someone confirm if this is for digital copies?
Brian
Interesting timing. I just sent a donation to the USPCS yesterday as a token of thanks for giving me free access to their downloads. Access to the APRL digital library alone might convince me to join APS.
Brian |
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| Edited by Rileysan - 05/21/2014 08:51 am |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1225 Posts |
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After a quick check, it appears that they are selling DVD's of the titles they decide to digitize. Price is determined by title just like a book. Not a bad idea but I couldn't find where I could download a .pdf file to my tablet or laptop, which is what I was really hoping for, at no cost of course. I could be wrong and just didn't find it. But a DVD is better than nothing, though the list of titles is pretty short. It still appears that the USPCS is still providing the best bang for the membership buck. JMO.
Art |
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A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The exact & entire wording of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
808 Posts |
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I think It's great that they are up to date with popular thinking, so to speak, But I find it curious that they will charge $10 for member access, per book. I guess I'm just one of those frugal old fogies with a masters degree in cheap. |
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Member of the Central Oregon Stamp Club.
Redmond, OR 97756 Mailer's Postmark Permit #1
APS 239403 |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2948 Posts |
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I sent an email to the library asking for clarification and Tara responded in short order. This was her response: Quote:Dear Mr. Riley: We have a variety of digital publications available. Most are available for free to anyone, but a few require membership or purchase. Most are in PDF format. If you search our library catalog ( http://catalog.stamplibrary.org) and select "Online" from the drop-down box, you'll get only records with online digital content. When you click full record, you'll see a link for downloading – either from our website or an external source. If membership or purchase is required, that information will be noted. If instead of "Online" you select "APRL", you'll see books and journals in the library. Books are available for borrowing by mail – directly by APS members or through interlibrary loan by others. If you select "All libraries and indexes" and type "Article" in the Record Type box, you'll see articles from various journals. We can supply scans on demand for most of these for a small fee. The scanning service is available to anyone, but is less expensive for APS members. See details on the fees here: http://stamps.org/Library-ServicesWe also have a few digital books for purchase on CD- and DVD-ROM, which you can browse here: http://stamps.org/Digital-Publications. Anyone can purchase, but members get a discount. I hope this answers your questions, but please feel free to contact me if there is anything else I can help you with. If there is a particular book you're seeking, I'll be happy to help. Best, Tara It seems likely that I clicked a link to a book that was for sale and not free download. With a little tweaking to the website, I'm sure it will be easy to find which titles are free and which are for sale. Brian |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1225 Posts |
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Brian, As with any WEB site, only with feedback will it get better and I'm sure the feedback will be appreiated. Tara was quick with a response to me as well. I also sent her the link to this discussion and she indicated that it would be passed on to other directors of the APS. Sounds to me like she is not someone who lets things just drop. So, when are you joining?  Art |
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A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The exact & entire wording of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) |
| Edited by artlaunier - 05/21/2014 3:24 pm |
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Valued Member
372 Posts |
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I certainly get my money's worth. The services I get the most from are:
(1) Sales circuits (mostly buying, but also selling)
(2) Hugh Wood insurance on my collection.
Matt |
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Pillar Of The Community
USA
9748 Posts |
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I am a life member of the APS...their stamp shows are SUPER...i have been to Hq. in State College twice and once to the Match factory which was in deplorable shape when I visited..talk about a money pit ! BUT, the APS employees at Bellefonte are the salt of the earth...they treat visiting collectors like a million bucks ! If you a member you should make the trip once in your lifetime ! |
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APS 070059 Life Member International Society of Guatemala Collectors I.S.G.C. #853 |
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Replies: 137 / Views: 21,104 |
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Posted 05/15/2014 12:45 am
