Basics of Flatbed Scanning
An Infopeople Online Learning Course
Dates: Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - Monday, January 9, 2012
Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and Infopeople Partners, $150 for all others (about payment)
Course Instructor: Jackie Spafford
Do you have materials in your collection that you’ve been hoping to digitize but weren’t sure how or where to start? Perhaps you need a refresher in scanning basics and best practices. This course will help you design a basic scanning project, walk you through the steps of digitizing, and determine the options that best fit your needs.
Whether you’re digitizing materials for archival purposes, for a website, or for distribution to library users, instructor Jackie Spafford can help you:
- Develop strategies for constructing a manageable digitizing project
- Identify the best scanning specifications, file type, and storage for your digital files
- Utilize techniques to improve the quality and documentation of your scans
- Train and supervise staff in scanning projects
As a result, you will gain a new, or renewed, confidence in using a flatbed scanner and building your library’s digital assets.
Course Description: This online course will provide you with the skills to design and execute a basic scanning project. Through a combination of demonstrations, readings, project templates, and handouts for later reference, you will gain confidence and knowledge to take you through future digitization projects. Weekly assignments and quizzes will give you the opportunity to try out what you’ve learned, and online discussions will allow you to share your experiences with other course participants. In the final week you will have the opportunity for consultation with the instructor during an online meeting.
Bring a small scanning project (with one or more types of material, e.g. documents, books, image prints) to practice on. We’ll go through all the steps to set up your project and give you the best scans possible using the equipment you have at hand.
Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:
- Week 1: Overview and Planning
- How to clarify goals and design an achievable digitization project
- Basics of file types, sizes, and resolutions
- Week 2: Equipment and Software
- The functions and features of a scanner
- Scanning software
- How to name and store files
- Week 3: Specifications and Workflow
- Understanding kinds (size, resolution, file type) of scans and the purposes of each
- Overview of a good digital workflow
- Week 4: Basics of Post-production and Metadata
- How to clean up scans through basic post-processing
- What is embedded metadata and how do we employ it?
Pre-workshop assignment: You will be asked to respond to a pre-course online survey about what hardware and software you have available, as well as which operating system and platform you use. You will also need to select materials for a small scanning project to develop and work on during the course.
Time required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 ½ hours per week, for a total of ten course hours. Each week's module contains readings, assignments, and discussions. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.
Who Should Take This Course: Staff in any type of library who are using flatbed scanners for digitization and archiving projects.
Prerequisites: You should have access to a flatbed scanner (preferably less than five years old), with minimum document capacity of 8 ½ x 11, 48-bit color, and 2400 x 4800 dpi optical resolution.
Strongly recommended: A universal scanning software, preferably VueScan (downloadable from www.hamrick.com). You can get a 30-day trial (which will “watermark” your scans) and/or buy the professional version for $79.95.
Suggested: For image editing and metadata embedding, Adobe Photoshop, version CS3 or higher (the most functions) or Photoshop Elements (basic functions).
Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at:
infopeople.org/training/online_learning_details.
Payment: Your invoice will be mailed to the billing address you provide when you register. Payment is due within 30 days. If you have any questions about your invoice or payment please contact Gini Ambrosino at assist@infopeople.org.
Course Start: This online learning course starts on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. Because several holidays fall within what would normally be a four-week course, the end date has been extended to January 9, 2012, to allow sufficient time to finish the four modules.
After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.
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