Policy on Scanners at SHAT and CAOM

From Edward.G.Miller@dartmouth.edu Mon Jun 27 20:16:21 2005

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:15:57 -0400

From: Ed Miller <Edward.G.Miller@dartmouth.edu>

Reply-To: Edward.Miller@dartmouth.edu, Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>

To: "VSG email list (VSG)" <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: [Vsg] VSG: policy on scanners at SHAT and CAOM

Dear list:

Does anyone know if portable flatbed scanners are permitted when reading documents at CAOM in Aix and/or at SHAT in Vincennes?

Thanks,

Ed

Edward Miller

Assistant Professor of History

Dartmouth College

HB 6107

Hanover, NH 03755

Edward.Miller@Dartmouth.edu

From christina.firpo@gmail.com Mon Jun 27 20:27:56 2005

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 20:27:33 -0700

From: Christina Firpo <christina.firpo@gmail.com>

To: Edward.Miller@dartmouth.edu, Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] VSG: policy on scanners at SHAT and CAOM

Dear Ed and List,

I don't know what the policy is for scanners but both archives will allow you to use a digital camera. I am very pleased with the photos I took in the archives. (you can also use the camera in the EFEO, ANF and a few more libraries in France but not the BNF) Feel free to email me for tips and techniques if you decide to use the camera. I found it was an acquired skill.

Best,

Christina

Christina Firpo

PhD Candidate

Southeast Asian History

University of California- Los Angeles

From magic_rettig@hotmail.com Mon Jun 27 20:42:14 2005

Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2005 03:41:56 +0000

From: Tobias Rettig <magic_rettig@hotmail.com>

Reply-To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>

To: vsg@u.washington.edu

Subject: [Vsg] policy on scanners at SHAT and CAOM

Dear Christina, Ed, and List,

Perhaps we should keep the exchange of tips regarding digital camera use in archives open to the whole group as it is a rapidly expanding, and new, note-taking technology.

Re flatbed scanners: I cannot remember having seen any in the CAOM, SHAT or ANF last November/December (though my visits to the latter were extremely short). From a staff point of view, I would suspect a preference for cameras as their use would appear to be less damaging to the documents. From a researcher's point of view, the camera should allow one to copy more material in a shorter period of time.

There are some techniques that allow one to save battery life (though a second set of batteries was essential to me), to make better pictures (eg putting a sheet of white paper behind slightly transparent paper so that the next page does not shine through), to back up pictures and organise them. There might be more tips and techniques, such as for how to print the pictures out.

Best wishes,

Tobias

Tobias Rettig

Singapore

From christina.firpo@gmail.com Mon Jun 27 22:04:37 2005

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:04:08 -0700

From: Christina Firpo <christina.firpo@gmail.com>

To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] policy on scanners at SHAT and CAOM

Hi Tobias, Ed and list,

I apologize for the length of this email.

The best tips I can give are as follows:

--Invest in a good camera, it will save your eyes in the future. (because of the photos I am now wearing granny glasses as I type). I could only afford 2 pixels and I'm able to read the photos.

--Practice with newspapers before you leave. It'll help you learn what kind of distance and how to keep the camera still.

--You can buy a tripod that specializes in documents (different angle from usual tripods) but I had a hard time managing them.

--Bring a small lamp. You're not allowed to use your flash at the CAOM and I felt the desk lamps were not sufficient even if I borrowed a lamp from another desk.

--In my three months at Aix I saw quite a few people loose their material or loose the folder system (and thus the citations). To protect myself against what seemed like the black plague, I included in each photograph a Post-It that stated the archives location, the collection name, the folder number and any other information I felt was necessary. Now if I find "loose" photos in my computer I don't run the risk of mis-citing the information.

--And of course don't forget to back up your information. I burnt CDs on a daily basis and snail mailed copies back to the US. The new Ipods have enough memory to store photos and interviews.

--To save time I put two pages in a photo and that does not compromise the photo quality. For newspapers I only shot half a page at a time and was careful to zero in on the very important articles.

--I have no idea how to save battery life, I went through lithium (!!!) batteries within a month. While using one I charged two others. There are websites that sell batteries for as low as 10$US. Some people had cameras that plug directly into the electric plug.

I am currently in the picture reading phase as I write my dissertation. I don't bother to print out the photos, perhaps someone else can contribute suggestions on printing.

-At first the photos look illegible and it's hard to concentrate but I found that my eyes acclimated. I can read most as they appear on the computer screen and for the few that are unclear I adjust the contrast to sharpen the type and make it a little more bright. (I have an unusually high tolerance for reading photos of texts but then again I'm also wearing glasses now) -I also bought an external hard drive so it's easier to access my photos without sifting through cds.

If I could do it over again I would sell my soul to buy a better camera and a computer with a DVD rewriter. I have more than 40 cds full of research photos and they were a pain to burn and make copies.

Don't forget that the National Library in Hanoi and the Social Science library in HCMC allow you to photograph as does the EFEO in Hanoi. I think I heard that the Library of Congress will allow copies of pre-1925 material?

Good luck. You'll be shocked at the amount of material you can bring back. I collected information for my dissertation and quite a few articles that I intend to write in the future. I also photographed whole journals and newspapers that I couldn't find in the US. Even better, it's easy to share material over the Internet with other scholars all over the planet.

Best,

Christina