Digital Ark unveils new system

PROVIDENCE – The Digital Ark, provider of digital archiving solutions, said on Aug. 31 that it has developed a new digitization system.
The system improves the rapid image capture work by automating image processing, ensuring quality control, facilitating client management and streamlining web publishing, the company said.
The Digital Ark, which has been in business since 2005 and has four full-time employees, said this is the third system it has developed in-house and is currently looking to manufacture and sell it.
The system combines hardware and software technologies; it maintains collection integrity, captures metadata, tracks assets, and manages progress, the company said, while noting that the database can be access through a web browser.
Some of its recent projects using the system include a 98,326 page manuscript, circa 1810-1930, for The Mary Baker Eddy Library.
“The online database allowed us to download high-resolution files, verify metadata, and answer questions to prevent delays to the digitizing process,” said the library’s archivist Nicole Lapenta.
The system has also been used for smaller collections, including a 4,000-piece artwork collection of the Anthony Quinn Foundation and is being used to digitize a collection of hand-painted, historical photographs circa 1910 to 1930 for the Harpers Ferry Center of the National Park Service.
The company specializes in large collections, for cultural heritage and historical societies, among others, but also works with individual artists.
On its plans to manufacture its digitization system, The Digital Ark said that it is currently in negotiations but couldn’t disclose specifics.