Monday, June 8, 2009

A SECOND CHANCE AT READING RECORDS

Have you ever come across a census record or other document that was unreadable due to the poor quality of the record. It could be damaged by the sun or water even mold? We were just out of luck. But no more.
An engineer with a background in computer imagery has created a camera that can look outside of the visible spectrum to "see" the different properties of the residual inks and paper. The fact that he also had a background in family history probably helped too.
This camera is being tested at the National Archives in London. This could be the missing link for so many researchers. Lets hope it catches on and gets used by all the genealogy sites.
To see more on this story have a look at http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/2009/04/genea-Logic/preserving-genealogical-records/

1 comment:

Linda Hughes Hiser said...

Interesting. There are a number of census reports that I have had to wade through that must have been written in pencil...the quality was so awful and then there is poor pensmanship. I wonder if they can find a machine to help fix that ;-)