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Written by Barb Sagraves.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
New Position: Book Arts Work Shop Special Instructor
I am thrilled to announce the creation of the Book Arts Workshop Special Instructor position (DRM-D) responsible for the day-to-day operation of the letterpress and bindery studios. This new three-year, 3/4-time term position will collaborate with Dartmouth College faculty on book arts seminars and exercises, work with and mentor undergraduate and graduate students in developing skills related to the book arts, and be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the studios. Hiring a Special Instructor will enable the Library to significantly increase the number of hours the studios are available to students, faculty, and others.
The position is funded by the Friends of the Dartmouth College Library, the Dartmouth College Library's Cornell Fund, the English Department, and the Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities Office.
For a complete job description and to apply on line, go to Dartmouth College Current Job Listings. Please refer to position #1011369.
All applications require a resume and cover letter. Candidates invited for an on campus interview will be requested to present a portfolio of their work with examples of: letterpress printing including broadside, chapbook or edition printing; bookbinding including single signature and multiple sewn signature structure, adhesive bound and non-adhesive bound structure, portfolio, and box construction; and innovative work in the book arts.
Application review will begin on October 15, 2012.
Written by Barb Sagraves.
The position is funded by the Friends of the Dartmouth College Library, the Dartmouth College Library's Cornell Fund, the English Department, and the Associate Dean for Arts and Humanities Office.
For a complete job description and to apply on line, go to Dartmouth College Current Job Listings. Please refer to position #1011369.
All applications require a resume and cover letter. Candidates invited for an on campus interview will be requested to present a portfolio of their work with examples of: letterpress printing including broadside, chapbook or edition printing; bookbinding including single signature and multiple sewn signature structure, adhesive bound and non-adhesive bound structure, portfolio, and box construction; and innovative work in the book arts.
Application review will begin on October 15, 2012.
Written by Barb Sagraves.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Optical Character Recognition: Digital Tools for a Digital Age
Each year the Dartmouth College Library, and indeed, libraries in general, expand further and further into digital territory. The ease with which the modern student can potentially access materials online is nothing short of astonishing, especially for those of us who remember the days of card catalogs and microfilm. As traditional publishers look to e-publishing and online journals so too does the Library, consistently finding new and better ways to provide our services to students and faculty.
When Dartmouth sets out to create a digital version of an item in our collection, there are many factors to consider. Is it visual material or textual? If it's a combination of both, which is more important and/or useful? How should it be displayed? How should it be cataloged?
These are all large questions, ones currently being figured out by libraries and repositories around the world. The Dartmouth College Library has recently created a Digital Production Unit under the Preservation Services Department to tackle these issues. While each project the Digital Production Unit takes on is unique in its requirements, each one also gives us new tools and skills to approach the next one.
One of the most important tools is Optical Character Recognition software (OCR), a program designed to "read" text from an image. This technology has been explored since the earlier parts of the 20th century, originally intended to assist blind readers without requiring a costly conversion to braille for each individual book. Early models proved too expensive for general use until 1965, when the American Postal Service began using it to great effect in mail sorting. As the technology advanced we began to see more and more applications for these machines, however, it still remained severely limited by the amount of hardware required.
Fast-forward forty years: the technology needed for image capture and storage is ubiquitous, even at the consumer level. Now we begin to see OCR technology made widely available, and with only a few basic pieces of equipment and software the Dartmouth College Library has been able to capitalize on this technology.
The first steps in any OCR project are image capture and processing. Using document scanners we are able to create digital versions of original materials. The exact process varies from project to project, but in the case of a project needing OCR we will generally apply image processing at this stage too; generally adjusting contrast and sharpening. What this will hopefully do is assist the OCR software in "reading" the text by improving its legibility.
Next, the document is run through an OCR program. These programs come in many varieties and have become quite advanced over the years, however they are still not all-powerful. A huge variety of factors affect the document's legibility, such as the age and condition of the document and the overall quality of the type. While the OCR software has very advanced algorithms for sorting problematic or indistinct characters, for better quality control we also have the option to "teach" the program, transcribing the type manually whenever the program is unsure of its results. The OCR then incorporates this information into future readings.
This represents a collaboration between the great advantages of modern digital information and the inimitable visual character of the historical object. It is our hope to provide the Dartmouth community with the best of both worlds.
Written by Ryland Ianelli.
When Dartmouth sets out to create a digital version of an item in our collection, there are many factors to consider. Is it visual material or textual? If it's a combination of both, which is more important and/or useful? How should it be displayed? How should it be cataloged?
 |
| One example of a digitized item that includes both visual and textual material. |
These are all large questions, ones currently being figured out by libraries and repositories around the world. The Dartmouth College Library has recently created a Digital Production Unit under the Preservation Services Department to tackle these issues. While each project the Digital Production Unit takes on is unique in its requirements, each one also gives us new tools and skills to approach the next one.
One of the most important tools is Optical Character Recognition software (OCR), a program designed to "read" text from an image. This technology has been explored since the earlier parts of the 20th century, originally intended to assist blind readers without requiring a costly conversion to braille for each individual book. Early models proved too expensive for general use until 1965, when the American Postal Service began using it to great effect in mail sorting. As the technology advanced we began to see more and more applications for these machines, however, it still remained severely limited by the amount of hardware required.
Fast-forward forty years: the technology needed for image capture and storage is ubiquitous, even at the consumer level. Now we begin to see OCR technology made widely available, and with only a few basic pieces of equipment and software the Dartmouth College Library has been able to capitalize on this technology.
The first steps in any OCR project are image capture and processing. Using document scanners we are able to create digital versions of original materials. The exact process varies from project to project, but in the case of a project needing OCR we will generally apply image processing at this stage too; generally adjusting contrast and sharpening. What this will hopefully do is assist the OCR software in "reading" the text by improving its legibility.
 |
| A digitized book that has been run through OCR to create an HTML-based version for web viewing. |
Next, the document is run through an OCR program. These programs come in many varieties and have become quite advanced over the years, however they are still not all-powerful. A huge variety of factors affect the document's legibility, such as the age and condition of the document and the overall quality of the type. While the OCR software has very advanced algorithms for sorting problematic or indistinct characters, for better quality control we also have the option to "teach" the program, transcribing the type manually whenever the program is unsure of its results. The OCR then incorporates this information into future readings.
This represents a collaboration between the great advantages of modern digital information and the inimitable visual character of the historical object. It is our hope to provide the Dartmouth community with the best of both worlds.
Written by Ryland Ianelli.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Dangerous Trades
Dangerous Trades; the historical, social, and legal aspects of industrial occupations as affecting health, by a number of experts recently arrived in the lab for repair.
When I pulled it off the shelf I could see its spine was torn, a signature poked out from the foredge, suggesting a broken thread, and the textblock overall was pretty loose. As I opened the book to further assess the job at hand, I noticed a heading that included the word "bookbinder". Curiosity made me pause at the entry and think about it. In what way was bookbinding a dangerous trade?
Bookbinding, along with many trades, changed from primarily handwork to largely mechanized production over time. According to this book, the location of bookbinding workshops was often characterized by poor ventilation, and the "unwholesome conditions of labour".*
Bookbinding, the fabrication of a book, is somewhat distinct from the conservation work we practice here in the lab. Our task is primarily to repair the bindings that contain texts, repair the text itself (pages of paper or vellum, for example), or create enclosures to house the item. Whether we rebind or repair a volume, our knowledge of bookbinding technique informs our treatment choices. Our conservation bench work is largely considered on an individual basis, each book having idiosyncratic problems. This work tends not to involve complicated mechanized machinery or generate a great deal of dust. We have a fume hood as needed and good overall ventilation.
This volume, published in 1902 London, addresses trades in Great Britain. It covers a variety of subjects including child labor; mortality of occupations; specific materials used, including lead, arsenic, and mercury; as well as a number of sections pertaining to dust, where it appears bookbinding's chief occupational hazard lay.
In the book's tenth chapter, John Tatham, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P., of the General Register Office in London, writes about the hazards of dust in a variety of occupations. He covers among other trades, stone-quarriers, printers, filemakers, gunsmiths, chimney sweeps and soot merchants, hatters, and musicians. In all his findings he compares these occupations with that of the agriculturalist, which appears to be perhaps an overall healthier occupation than many of the trades he covers.
His brief section on bookbinders states that they, "die very rapidly from pulmonary consumption" and that "their mortality figure from that disease...[is] more than three times as high as that of agriculturalists." An explanation for this is also alluded to, as Tatham quotes a certain Dr. Ogle, who informs us that both bookbinders and printers work in "unhealthy conditions, in ill-ventilated rooms." Tatham goes on to discuss other illnesses for bookbinders, and even mentions suicide, occurring at elevated rates as compared to agriculturalists. He does mention improvements in the environmental conditions in many of the trades he addresses, between the time of Dr. Ogle’s study in 1881 and this essay. There was a further note that "since 1871 the mortality of bookbinders has steadily decreased." **
As I glanced over the majority of the occupations covered in this section (and on the above table) I understood why most of them might appear here, with the exception of musician. Some readers of this post may know or easily deduce a reason, but others may also wonder about musician as a "dust-producing" occupation. Upon further reading, it appears that musician shows up on this chart because the author combines cases of phthisis (referring to tubercular phthisis or tuberculosis) with other respiratory diseases (some of those the result of dust exposure). He again quotes Dr. Ogle who says of musicians, "many of whom are of intemperate habits, and exposed by their mode of life to cold and want." This suggests that lack of income may be one possible reason for the general ill-health of musicians, allowing for susceptibility to disease, including TB.^ Musician or bookbinder, these occupations, according to this chart, didn’t bode well for the health of their practitioners.
The incoming repair shelf always contains books covering an interesting variety of topics. Sometimes a quick dip into them expands the historical knowledge of our profession, and reminds us of how times have changed!
* The quoted passages are found between p. 149-151.
** For more information on the history of bookbinders' working conditions, see Bernard Middleton's A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique Appendix II. He discusses binderies of various times and general conditions of life for these workers.
^ For those interested in public health, including tuberculosis, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, explains a great deal about the disease and the work of Partners in Health, an organization founded by, among others, doctors Paul Farmer and Dartmouth's recent president Jim Yong Kim.
Written by Stephanie Wolff.
When I pulled it off the shelf I could see its spine was torn, a signature poked out from the foredge, suggesting a broken thread, and the textblock overall was pretty loose. As I opened the book to further assess the job at hand, I noticed a heading that included the word "bookbinder". Curiosity made me pause at the entry and think about it. In what way was bookbinding a dangerous trade?
Bookbinding, along with many trades, changed from primarily handwork to largely mechanized production over time. According to this book, the location of bookbinding workshops was often characterized by poor ventilation, and the "unwholesome conditions of labour".*
Bookbinding, the fabrication of a book, is somewhat distinct from the conservation work we practice here in the lab. Our task is primarily to repair the bindings that contain texts, repair the text itself (pages of paper or vellum, for example), or create enclosures to house the item. Whether we rebind or repair a volume, our knowledge of bookbinding technique informs our treatment choices. Our conservation bench work is largely considered on an individual basis, each book having idiosyncratic problems. This work tends not to involve complicated mechanized machinery or generate a great deal of dust. We have a fume hood as needed and good overall ventilation.
This volume, published in 1902 London, addresses trades in Great Britain. It covers a variety of subjects including child labor; mortality of occupations; specific materials used, including lead, arsenic, and mercury; as well as a number of sections pertaining to dust, where it appears bookbinding's chief occupational hazard lay.
In the book's tenth chapter, John Tatham, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P., of the General Register Office in London, writes about the hazards of dust in a variety of occupations. He covers among other trades, stone-quarriers, printers, filemakers, gunsmiths, chimney sweeps and soot merchants, hatters, and musicians. In all his findings he compares these occupations with that of the agriculturalist, which appears to be perhaps an overall healthier occupation than many of the trades he covers.
His brief section on bookbinders states that they, "die very rapidly from pulmonary consumption" and that "their mortality figure from that disease...[is] more than three times as high as that of agriculturalists." An explanation for this is also alluded to, as Tatham quotes a certain Dr. Ogle, who informs us that both bookbinders and printers work in "unhealthy conditions, in ill-ventilated rooms." Tatham goes on to discuss other illnesses for bookbinders, and even mentions suicide, occurring at elevated rates as compared to agriculturalists. He does mention improvements in the environmental conditions in many of the trades he addresses, between the time of Dr. Ogle’s study in 1881 and this essay. There was a further note that "since 1871 the mortality of bookbinders has steadily decreased." **
As I glanced over the majority of the occupations covered in this section (and on the above table) I understood why most of them might appear here, with the exception of musician. Some readers of this post may know or easily deduce a reason, but others may also wonder about musician as a "dust-producing" occupation. Upon further reading, it appears that musician shows up on this chart because the author combines cases of phthisis (referring to tubercular phthisis or tuberculosis) with other respiratory diseases (some of those the result of dust exposure). He again quotes Dr. Ogle who says of musicians, "many of whom are of intemperate habits, and exposed by their mode of life to cold and want." This suggests that lack of income may be one possible reason for the general ill-health of musicians, allowing for susceptibility to disease, including TB.^ Musician or bookbinder, these occupations, according to this chart, didn’t bode well for the health of their practitioners.
The incoming repair shelf always contains books covering an interesting variety of topics. Sometimes a quick dip into them expands the historical knowledge of our profession, and reminds us of how times have changed!
* The quoted passages are found between p. 149-151.
** For more information on the history of bookbinders' working conditions, see Bernard Middleton's A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique Appendix II. He discusses binderies of various times and general conditions of life for these workers.
^ For those interested in public health, including tuberculosis, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, explains a great deal about the disease and the work of Partners in Health, an organization founded by, among others, doctors Paul Farmer and Dartmouth's recent president Jim Yong Kim.
Written by Stephanie Wolff.
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