Case Studies | Client Success Through Digital Conversion

Below are some case studies that illustrate how we effectively work with our clients to produce successful digital projects.

Accessible Legacy Records

Alameda County Clerk-Recorder | California

Digital Conversion of Microfilm Records

Legacy records from 1850-1970 that were once only available on microfilm, microfiche, and large bound book converted to digital and accessible from 15 public workstations.

Online Newspaper Retrieval

Azusa City Library | California

Newspaper Microfilm Digitization

A century’s worth of data was hamstrung by one bottleneck: the single reader/printer in the library. Now, this treasure trove of local history can be accessed by users all over the world.

Saving History from Extinction

Belmont Public Library | Massachusetts

Online, Digital Newspaper Archive

With local history on microfilm that dated back to 1889, it was critical to preserve this information before the film deteriorated. Funded by a grant, the Library digitized its collection to ensure access to patrons well into the future.

Rapid Retrieval and Minimal IT Involvement

California State University, Fresno

Digital Student Records & Index Books

With 450 rolls of microfilm containing academic records, and 20 oversized index books required to locate records on the film, it made sense for Fresno State to go digital.

Same-Day Transcript Request Turnaround

California State University, Los Angeles

Rapid Transcript Online Search & Retrieval

When you work in the registrar’s office, you get transcript requests. And when you can reduce the time spent locating the transcripts from days to minutes, it’s a very good thing.

Self-Service Records for the Public

Coconino County Superior Court | Arizona

Single Solution for Court Records & Marriage Licenses

With unique indexing requirements for both case numbers and marriage license book and pages, a single digital conversion solution that properly addressed both document types was a requirement for success.

Optimizing Image Quality of Record Archive

Davidson County Register of Deeds | Tennessee

Image Enhancement for Optimal Legibility

When a project with a previous company proved unsuccessful, the Register of Deeds selected Digital ReeL as its way forward. With grayscale image enhancement capabilities, the physical microfilm records were finally put to rest.

Online Search of Historic City Council Minutes & Agendas

City of Duluth, Minnesota | City Clerk

Hosted Solution Avoids Leveraging IT Staff Time

The City of Duluth found it increasingly difficult to search and retrieve records archived on physical microfilm. It was difficult to locate a record and records often did not print well. After reviewing four different microfilm conversion products, the City selected BMI’s Digital ReeL.

Religious Archives Digitally Preserved

Diocese of Tucson | Arizona

577 Archival Microfilm Roll Collection Digitized

The Diocese chose BMI to digitize its archival microfilm collection to Digital ReeL, preserving historic documents such as burial records, tribunal records, and sacramental records. The complex indexing scheme was accomplished using BMI’s OLIS indexing application.

Hosted Solution Makes Support Efficient

Harrison County | Mississippi

Archival Microfilm and Go-Forward Newspaper Scanning

The County worked with BMI to convert land records, marriage licenses, court records, and military discharges. BMI is also help the County avoid expenses tied to a statute that requires the County maintain one bound copy of the Sun Herald newspaper.

Affordable Student Record Conversion

Jackson Local Schools | Ohio

Elimination of Physical Microfilm Reader

After researching alternatives, Jackson Local Schools selected Digital ReeL because it was affordable and easy to implement. Record retrieval and image optimization are great, but the feeling of not having to use a broken reader printer? Priceless.

TIFFs for Existing System, With a Hosted Backup

Kitsap County Clerk's Office | Washington

Redundancy Reduces Risk

TIFF images were created and indexed for import into an existing system. Additionally, Digital ReeL was included as a means to optimize individual image quality and provide a backup disaster recovery dataset.

Land Records No Longer Trapped on Microfilm

Lancaster County Assessor-Register of Deeds | Nebraska

Records Prior to 1987 Available in Digital Format

Land records prior to 1987 that were previously only available on physical microfilm are now available in the County’s Digital ReeL dataset. With the County’s exisiting system for records from 1987-present, patrons now have complete access to necessary data.

Document Conversion to Existing Retrieval System

Landmark Worldwide | California

Secure Facilities & Flexible Solutions

Landmark had a desire to digitally convert their historical records and import them into an existing system. The company had never embarked on a large-scale document conversion project and selected BMI due to our experience and secure facilities.

Improved Blueprint Image Quality

Livermore Community & Economic Development Department | California

Large Format Document & Fiche Scanning

The City selected Digital ReeL as its microfiche replacement solution for its ability to capture the entire fiche and maintain the existing indexing. Large format documents are also digitally available from the hosted application and are easily accessible by staff.

Improved Citizen Experience Retrieving Court Records

Napa County Court | California

Reduced Staff Involvement with Case File Retrieval

BMI integrated document management capabilities with SUSTAIN’s Justice Edition, enabling staff to retrieve case files that once took up to 10 days to get out of storage.

Global Access to Digital Newspaper Archive

Napa County Library | California

1,200 Microfilm Rolls Converted and Hosted

With 1,200 microfilm rolls of local history, the Library needed a portal to provide digital access for patrons. By choosing Digital ReeL, the Library now has a user-friendly interface that gets 45,000 image requests per month of local newspaper titles.

100% Accuracy - A Justified Solution

Phoenix Police Department | Arizona

15 Million Images Converted from Microfilm

After evaluating 8 potential solutions, PHX PD selected Digital ReeL for its conversion accuracy, image quality, and cost effectiveness. With 5,500 rolls of microfilm to digitize, making the right choice the first time was critical for success.

Reducing Staff Stress

Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder | Colorado

Microfilm, Microfiche, and Book Conversion

Pitkin had plans to digitize 100+ years of recorded documents on books and microfilm, and Digital ReeL offered a solution at a reasonable price. In addition, not having to carry around 20lb books made the staff much happier!

Public-Facing Self-Service App for Records Retrieval

Rice County District Court | Kansas

Reduced Staff Involvement

The Rice County District Court had a goal of digitizing and standardizing records management processes at the office. Converting a portion of records archived on microfilm was an important project towards accomplishing that goal.

Single Portal for Fiche & Paper

Salinas Permit Services Center | California

Legacy & Go-Forward Scanning

Salinas had plan sets and permits on paper, microfiche, and in PDF format. BMI offered a comprehensive solution to scan the hard copy microfiche and paper, and import existing digital records into a single, easily searchable repository.

16TB of Data Scanned from 16,000 Rolls

San Bernardino County Sheriff | California

Secure CJIS Environment for Records

San Bernardino planned to convert and import their records into an existing system, but the sheer volume of images made IT deployment costs untenable. Digital ReeL was selected and now houses the records in a hosted CJIS environment.

Efficiency, Quality, Accuracy

San Francisco County Superior Court | California

Reduced Record Search Times

The Court worked with BMI to convert an enormous backlog of historical case files from microfilm and microfiche to digital. The hours spent locating records dropped to minutes, and the productivity and efficiency of the staff has increased.

Digital Records to Meet AZA Accreditation Requirements

San Francisco Zoo | California

Clear, Easy-to-Read Digital Copies

San Francisco Zoo is required to properly store animal records and share them with fellow AZA accredited zoos. That drove a paper digitization initiative. Learn why the Zoo selected BMI Imaging for several document conversion projects.

80 Years of University History Digitized

San Jose State University ScholarWorks | California

Newspaper Conversion to PDFs

80 years of The Spartan Daily was only available as aging newsprint in physical books and on tattered microfilm. BMI helped the University digitally convert the archive into searchable PDFs, accessible on the Internet through the University’s website.

38 Tons of Paper Converted for OpenText

San Luis Obispo County Assessor | California

Liability Risk Drives Digitization Requirement

The County and BMI collaborated on custom indexing schemas for unique document types and imported the records into OpenText for easy search and retrieval.

Legally Compliant Microfilm Conversion

San Luis Obispo County Recorder | California

SSN Redactions Critical to Project Success

The County selected Digital ReeL due to its conversion accuracy and ability to redact SSNs from public view. The County also avoided significant IT infrastructure costs by hosting its information with BMI.

Multiple Major Scanning Projects in Tandem

City of San Mateo Community Development Department | California

125,000 Microfiche & 500 Boxes of Paper

BMI Imaging provides the City of San Mateo Community Development Department with microfiche and paper scanning services, and expert assistance transitioning to Laserfiche.

Ongoing Paper Digitization for Laserfiche

Saratoga | California

Laserfiche Load Files That Minimize City Staff Time to Import

BMI Imaging provides Saratoga’s Building, Planning, Public Works, and Finance departments with Laserfiche paper scanning services. Saratoga has found it beneficial to partner with a single company over the long-term.

Dramatic Image Quality Enhancement

Skamania County Clerk | Washington

Grayscale Enhancement Enables Image Quality Optimization

After reviewing digital microfilm samples, Skamania was able to view the image enhancement capabilities offered by Digital ReeL’s adjustable grayscale tool. Records that were almost unusable are now able to be optimized and utilized.

Fast Search & Retrieval Cuts Staff Time

Sunnyvale Public Library | California

Two Online Datasets for Patrons

Sunnyvale considered scanning microfilm scanning in-house. After realizing the work involved, the Library partnered with BMI to leverage their experience with other digitization projects. Now the Library provides two datasets of local history to its patrons.

Self Service Public Research Center

Tuolumne County | California

Conversion of Microfilm, Books and Newspapers

The County worked with BMI to convert historical records on microfilm, legacy hardcover books and newspaper archives. The end result was a self service public research center, offering citizens a full text searchable digital repository of various County records.

Anytime, Anywhere Access to Digital Archive

Watsonville Public Library | California

Hosted Access Reduces IT Involvement

Digital ReeL offers Watsonville a a simple, web-based interface that delivers online access to its historical newspaper archive, opening the information up to on-site and remote visitors like never before.

Self-Service Stations Give Time Back to Staff

Xcel Energy | Minnesota

Illegible Photos and Text Brought Back to Life

Xcel worked with BMI to eliminate staff time spent locating information available only on microfilm. BMI converted 13,500 microfilm rolls to digital, bringing plant-specific engineering and operations records online for easy search and retrieval.

Improved Staff and User Experience

Yuba County Library | California

Reduced Staff Involvement

The Library worked with BMI to convert its newspaper microfilm to a digital platform. Digital ReeL improved the user experience by providing an intuitive interface for research. Additionally, staff involvement has drastically reduced, allowing them to focus on other projects.