I am sorry, Bob, That is not what Anne indicated to me. A simple phone call to me could have gone a long way to deal with this issue. I certainly am not going to put Anne in the middle of some conflict. I was merely reacting to an opportunity to provide another great online database for the AIS Library.
All that aside, the real issue here is how to get the catalogs scanned, OCRd and in PDF format in a timely, professional product, and efficient manner. No one doubts your dedication to the wiki, and the multitudinous other projects you have taken on, nor your willingness to take on and provide a good product.
By your own admission, aside from the first phase of scanning and OCRing the catalogs, there is the complicated process of getting the pages integrated into the wiki with cross references etc. You had asked for only a couple of catalogs to be sent to you because of the amount of time it would take you to scan them. I can only guess that it would take you a long time (years perhaps) to scan 10 boxes of catalogs while still having to keep up with your commitments to all the other projects you have taken on such as the 100th Anniversary edition, the TWOI and the rest. Yes I know you have an army of docents to do things but not everything can be farmed out.
As Registrar, and for those doing research on iris heritage, I can see great advantage in having the catalogs available in a more expeditious timeframe. Nor would you have to wait to the end of the project to have access. There would progress deliveries at which point the catalog PDFs could be provided to you.
I don't know what scanning software you have, but I do know from my own (not unsubstantial) experience that the quality of the OCR is highly dependent on the capabilities of the scanner and the quality of the OCR software. Additionally the process of superimposing the page images over the searchable text so readers can easily associate text with pictures is an additional complicating, but significant feature. The professional service software has this capability built in, witness the job they did on the AIS bulletins.
Ron said "Free is hard to beat." That often is true but in this case free probably has a much longer time frame associated with it. What I have proposed to the AIS Foundation is a project that benefits both the Foundation and AIS. I am not one for wasting money even if it is not mine. The Foundation is trying to recover their full 501 (c) (3) qualification. To do so they need to grant a significant amount of money each year. This project will benefit the AIS Library, one of the major tenets of the AIS Foundation Charter, and the Foundation.
I never said or implied that I was against the final product being on the wiki. I am not against catalogs being on the wiki and other places, particularly older catalogs. What I said was it was up to the board. The wiki is an AIS sponsored product just like the website, and the content of any AIS sponsored product is up to the AIS Board. I may be wrong but I don't think I have ever heard a proposal to the board to put catalogs on the wiki. Certainly we have advertising in the Bulletin, but that is open to everyone.
This is just a project that can benefit every aspect of AIS, its members, irisarians, and the general public. I see an opportunity to get an additional product in a timely manner if the Foundation is willing to fund the project.
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Pries" <101p@rewrite.aisboard.org>
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 4:56:17 AM
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Catalog Scanning Project
I am confused, I have talked to Anne several times since Mike's death and she had said she was sending me the catalogs to put onto the Encyclopedia. I had already contacted Schreiner's and The Cooley heirs and obtained permission to do this. My intent was to scan them myself nondestructively and then to send them on to the library.
I already have the off copyright Cooley's catalogs up on the wiki in pages linked to their source and planned to put them onto the Encyclopedia proper. This would allow them to be searchable also.
copyright
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Jones" <100h@rewrite.aisboard.org>
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2014 12:14:49 AM
Subject: [AISdiscuss] Catalog Scanning Project
Over the years Mike and Anne Lowe collected a large repository of old iris catalogs. The collection includes all the Schreiner and Cooley catalogs, Muhlestein, Plough, Whiting and many others.
Anne has agreed to donate the collection in Mike's honor (about 10 banker's boxes) to a project for AIS to
non-destructively scan, OCR and convert to a searchable PDF all the catalogs much as I did for the collection of AIS Bulletins.
To that end I have made a Grant Request to the AIS Foundation to fund the project.
Once the project is completed the AIS Board can decide whether the files should be made part of the AIS Electronic Membership, or made available to the General public or...
I will keep you all informed when I hear from the foundation.
Thanks
John
AIS Registrar/Recorder
Chair AIS Electronic Services
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