AZUSA CITY LIBRARY | CALIFORNIA
“We looked at multiple options for converting over 100 years of newspaper microfilm archives. Ultimately, Digital ReeL from BMI Imaging provided the best combination of online user-friendly access, price and proven expertise. BMI became a trusted partner in the effort to quickly digitize our unique one-of-a kind collection.”
– Reed Strege | City Librarian
OVERVIEW
The City of Azusa’s 45,000 residents are proud of their long and storied history dating back to the City’s start as a Mexican land grant in 1841, and the subsequent sale in 1844 to English immigrant Henry Dalton. Today, Azusa serves as a local hub for the surrounding region. It is also the home of Azusa Pacific University and a major IT and research facility for international defense giant Northrop Grumman.
Like many cities, Azusa wants to preserve and provide access to over 100 years of history to its citizens and the general public. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper represents an important archive of the City’s history. Digitally converting the newspaper’s archive from microfilm to an easily accessible online solution was an important project for the long term accessibility of Azusa history.
After reviewing several options, Azusa selected Digital ReeL because of its competitive price, secure and efficient document handling, and simple, elegant user interface.
CHALLENGES
- Access to over 100 years of newspaper archives bottle-necked via a single microfilm reader / printer
- Deteriorating physical indexes made finding specific information more costly and time consuming
- Specialized training to access archives delayed response to incoming requests
BMI PRODUCTS & SERVICES
- High quality digital images from 100+ working Library microfilm rolls (negatives not available)
- Digital San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper records and indexes hosted at BMI’s data center
BENEFITS
- Universal online record retrieval from any desktop or laptop
- Out-of-state patrons access newspaper articles from the Library’s web-site
- Non-proprietary formats (e.g. PDF) for on-demand user download