Historical Society Scanner Nights will digitally preserve photos, documents

Historical Society Scanner Nights will digitally preserve photos, documents

LUDINGTON — Over the winter, the Mason County Historical Society will host two Scanner Night events. During a Scanner Night, participants will have the opportunity to bring some of their family’s historical photographs and documents to be digitally preserved. The items should have a connection to Mason County. In the case of photographs, there should be some type of identifying component to the images, whether its people, places or events. The more information the better.

“This is a great opportunity to create a digital record of these items and have them preserved here at the Historical Society,” said Rebecca Berringer, executive director. “We are looking for photographs and documents from any period of time, including the late 20th century.”

Flatbed and document scanners will be used for documents legal size or letter size while larger items will be photographed. Future events may include the option to scan negatives and slides.

Assisting with the scanning will be Historical Society board member Rob Alway, who owns Mason County Press and Alway Photography.

“We will have a variety of devices available from flatbed and document scanners for smaller items to a camera with lighting for larger items,” Alway said. “A high resolution scan of a photograph or document not only preserves the document digitally but also creates the ability to make a quality print of that item.”

Scanning will take place during the event and contributed items will be immediately returned to the owners. The digital images will then be added to the Society’s collection of over 150,000 historical artifacts.

There is no charge for scanning but RSVP is requested by contacting MCHS Collections Manager Amber Valentine by email at amber@mchshistory.org or by calling the Mason County Research Center at 231-843-4808. Donors who bring USB drive with them can receive digital copies of their contributions.

Event nights will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11 and Thursday, Feb. 8.

There is no cost for the events, but the Historical Society asks that participants consider a monetary donation.