Sandy Stories
As noted in our storm update earlier this month, Innovative Document Imaging and the IDI team made it through Hurricane Sandy safely and with minimal damage. Some of our colleagues, clients, neighbors, and friends were not as lucky as we were. We thought we’d highlight a couple of their stories.
The cost of storm damage in the region is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars. This photo blog from NBC News highlights some of that loss in a very personal way. Please take a look
Belmar Historical Society
The Belmar Historical Society was 5 days away from the grand opening of their new museum when Hurricane Sandy struck the town. The museum was meant to be the crowning achievement of years of labor by the Society, which was set up in 1991 as the Belmar Historical Preservation Council to identify and preserve historic sites. In addition to the buildings and monuments, the council found a cache of historical documents in the basement of the local library. The documents included scrapbooks, blueprints, borough records, and 80-years worth of the local paper, the Coast Advertiser. The collection became the backbone of the museum.
The Museum, housed in a recently renovated space in the 100-year-old Union Firehouse Annex (pictured), was flooded. “We had 2 1/2 feet of water. Some collections were lost but we were able to save more than we lost,” said BHS president, Naomi Reissner.
When Reissner returned to her home about a week ago, among the waiting messages was one from Innovative Document Imaging president, Marty Tannenbaum, inquiring about Reisnner’s well-being “We had originally called IDI for a quote on digitizing the newspapers. I asked Marty if the microfilm of the Coast Advertiser which had been damaged in the flood could be restored.” The answer was affirmative and the microfilm is in the process of being digitized.
Sadly, the Museum opening has been put off indefinitely. Reissner and the Society had already applied for a State grant to pay for the cost of microfilming the remaining volumes of the Coast Advertiser and to make them publicly available through the Society’s website. Reissner also hopes to hold Digital Memory Media personal digitization sessions in support of the Society in the future. “People don’t think about their personal collections of photos and papers, but it is really important to preserve them,” she said.
East Hanover Public Library
Last month, Imaging Innovations highlighted IDI’s work at the East Hanover Library in Morris County, New Jersey. IDI scanned over 58 years of the Weekly News from hard copies and set up a DigiFind-It portal for patrons.
About IDI, Gayle Carlson, East Hanover’s director, wrote in an email that “they were good to work with and product is good and easy to use.” When asked whether digitization would play a larger part in contingency planning in the future, Carlson responded, that “Due to the economy, the library budget has been reduced, the storm does not play a part in that decision. Other than maintaining the local weekly paper in digital form,” there were no plans at this time for more scanning projects.
Carlson noted that the Library was “closed, without power, for over a week and our public internet is still down from the storm.” The Digi-FindIt portal will be going live soon.
IDI Digital Memory Media
Digital Memory Media’s Fundraising Program gives libraries and institutions a new way to raise money while also helping patrons preserve personal collections of text and media. This is a unique service that helps local communities keep their histories alive! Sponsoring libraries get 20% of the sessions’ proceeds.
The next Digital Memory Media session will be held:
- January 12, 2013 – Plainfield Public Library – 12-3pm
Want to bring Digital Memory Media to your library? Please contact Marty Tannenbaum at 800.380.9058 or by email at martyt@idiimage.com.
First, I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! I am extremely grateful to the IDI team for their perseverance in the face of all the difficulties that we faced in New Jersey in the past few weeks. To my family and friends, thank you for your love and support. As many of you know, there are still people in our state facing hardship as a result of Hurricane Sandy. If you can help, please consider giving blood or making a donation to the American Red Cross.
In good times or bad, I am always happy to hear from you. You can reach me at martyt@idiimage.com.
Thank you for your business and warmest regards!
Sincerely,
Marty
Martin Tannenbaum
Innovative Document Imaging