Using Scanners in the Research Rooms
Have Your Scanner Approved
When entering a research room, let a NARA staff member know as soon as possible that you would like to use a scanner to reproduce records.
The research room supervisor will decide whether your scanner meets the standards set by NARA Preservation Programs.
Once approved, the supervisor and staff may designate an area for you to work.
Approval is good only for that research room. Because the records in each research room present unique formats and preservation issues, you must receive separate approval to use the scanner in another research room.
Scanning Records
On your first visit to each NARA research room, ask a staff member to brief you about appropriate records handling and copying procedures for that media. We can also provide you with written guidelines for reference while you work.
Show the records you want to copy to the research room staff. You cannot simply move records from your research space to your scanner without approval.
Bound volumes may not be scanned.
When working with formerly classified images, it is extremely important that you follow declassification instructions provided by staff.
All scanned images must bear appropriate declassification markings.
In addition, each day you must complete a form indicating that you followed these procedures and show that form to the guard upon leaving for the day.
Allowable Use of Scanners
Only flatbed scanners (see below for single exception) are allowed. Automatic feeder devices on flatbed scanners are prohibited.
Equipment platens or copyboards must be the same size or larger than the record to be copied. No part of a record may overhang the platen or copyboard.
No part of the equipment may come in contact with records in a manner that causes friction, abrasion, or otherwise crushes or damages records.
Light sources must not raise the surface temperature of the record being copied.
All equipment surfaces must be clean and dry before being used with records.
You cannot clean the scanner, replace toner cartridges, or perform other maintenance in the research room. Cleaning supplies may only be used and stored in the locker area of the research complex.
Aerosols or ammonia-containing cleaning solutions should not be used. A 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol solution is recommended for cleaning.
Hand-Held Scanners
NARA does not generally allow the use of hand-held scanners that are moved or rubbed across the face of documents. According to NARA preservation specifications, "Equipment that could potentially damage documents will not be approved. No part of the equipment may come in contact with records in a manner that causes friction, abrasion, or that otherwise crushes or damages records..."
However, NARA's preservation staff reviewed one particular hand-held scanner, the Hewlett-Packard CapShare 920, and determined it to be safe for research room use under the following certain conditions:
The scanner may be used for loose (unbound and not fastened) letter- and legal-size documents in good condition. The following items cannot be scanned: bound, folded, fastened, torn, or brittle sheets, sheets with applied or embossed seals, powdery or impasto media, and photographs.
NARA research room staff must determine whether the segment of records the researcher plans to scan meets the above criteria.
Documents to be scanned must be protected by polyester sleeves provided by NARA. (The scanner should never come into direct contact with the document.) The sleeve must be at least one inch larger on each side than the document to be scanned to protect the edges of the document from inadvertent damage during the scanning process. Documents that have been previously placed in L-sleeves or polyester encapsulations by NARA staff must not be removed for scanning. The L-sleeve or encapsulation will serve as the protective barrier for scanning.
11/04/02 (revised (1/28/05)
