The library is on a small-ish budget, so other sources of income are helpful. To that end, there are independent sources of income Sheila must implement and manage. The largest of these is selling donated materials on Abebooks.com. Like most libraries, the NOMA library receives heaps of donations that may not be of use to the collection. The collection occupies almost the entire basement space, even when condensed into movable compact shelving. However, deaccessioning is not a common practice, as the collection is heavily based on artworks and artists that the museum's collection possesses, and thus have value perpetually. Owing to the premium on space, collection development must be done critically by the librarian in conjunction with the curators, so donations, while well-intentioned, can often be of little use except as merchandise. Sheila manages the book selling operation out of the storage room and via an Abebooks account. She compares pricing and creates detailed and honest listings as to avoid disputes with buyers. Volunteers help her to package and mail the books that are sold. Other sources of income include in-house book sales and book club refreshment donations, as well as occasional direct donations.
I finally began scanning as well. Regina Shuja, a museum docent and library volunteer, also a former school librarian herself, showed me how to work the VuPoint Magic Wand scanner! It is a handheld bar scanner that a person moves freely with their hands, and it is incredibly flexible for working with materials like aging books. At only $79, the scanner can scan up to 900 dpi, although we will be scanning at 600. These specifications lead to scans that appear archivally adequate for the needs of the library--they are completely legible and have little distortion, plus they are much faster to make than using a flatbed scanner, which the scrapbooks are far too large for to begin with. In fact, on a budget, the Magic Wand may have been the only option on the market today for a project with the resource restrictions of this one--no funding, volunteer labor, and non-traditional digitization facilities (i.e. a table in a library!).
It took several tries before I got a feel for the scanner and could make a passable scan file. Regina assured me it would take a few sessions, but I would get the hang of it. No matter what, she said, the trick is to scan each article 2-3 times so you can increase your chances of getting something usable. I'll be back on Friday to offload the files and take a look at the metadata spreadsheet that will accompany them, and is really the second major aspect of this project.
Regina blocking off an article with copy paper in preparation for showing me how to scan:
The VuPoint Magic Wand handheld scanner:
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