BMI Imaging Systems Exhibits At ARSL Conference 2023, Wichita

BMI team hits Wichita for the 2023 Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference.

Sunnyvale, California – September 27, 2023

The Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL), whose mission is to “build strong communities through advocacy, professional development, and elevating the impact of rural and small libraries,” hosted hundreds of librarians, staff, and exhibitors in Wichita, KS for its 2023 conference. Shining a light on the small and rural libraries across the country, the ARSL conference is the premier event to capture the importance of local history and the folks that continue to preserve it, no matter the size or location.

BMI has been working with libraries, historical societies, and archives organizations for decades, and has consistently attended conferences to support and work with organizations across the country. With decades of experience working with newsprint and archival records, as well as small libraries throughout the US, exhibiting at ARSL was a clear decision.

Jake Walker, Account Executive, says that “I’ve worked with many smaller and rural libraries to digitize their records, and it’s common to see the struggles they deal with when compared to larger libraries, or ones that are in bigger cities and counties. The small libraries have tight budgets and even when they have a collection of records (microfilm, newsprint, historic books) that they want to digitize, it’s often hard for them to do it all at once.

Since BMI’s been working with libraries from our beginning in the 1950s, we’re well aware of the obstacles they face and find creative ways to work together to get their projects done. The local history contained within these record collections is essential to preserving the past, and it’s great that ARSL has created this event to showcase the smaller libraries.”

About BMI

BMI Imaging Systems (originally Bay Microfilm Incorporated) incorporated in 1958 as a microfilm service bureau, working with County Recorders to archive land records on microfilm. In the early 1960s, services were expanded to include preservation microfilming of the rare books and manuscripts of leading California Universities. A Library Microfilms Division was also established, working with over 200 newspaper publishers to preserve California local history for libraries and archivists. A reputation for service, precision, and reliability led to steady expansion of BMI’s government, education, and commercial clients over the next two decades. By the early 1990’s, the records management industry had entered the digital age and BMI was at the forefront of this evolution. Clients were meeting their electronic document management needs by having BMI digitize their records, with BMI installing and supporting on-site document management software solutions.

Today, BMI’s production capability includes two imaging facilities with a staff of more than 60 technicians. With a focus on quality, accuracy, security, and innovation, BMI provides custom solutions that fit the unique requirements of each of its customers. In addition to providing document/microform imaging and indexing services of the highest standard, BMI offers public tenant, private tenant, and CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services)-compliant community cloud hosting services, enabling secure access to client data via the Web. BMI also provides systems integration services, implementing turnkey document capture, management, and workflow solutions. BMI employs an in-house software development staff, a project management customer support staff, along with IT professionals that support internal and Web hosting operations.