Elar digitized 3,800 archivings from Department of manuscripts of the State Hermitage

2019: Digitization about 3,800 archivings from Department of manuscripts

On November 14, 2019 the Elar company reported that for the purpose of research activity about 3,800 archivings from Department of manuscripts of the State Hermitage were digitized. Materials, many of which are especially valuable, were scanned by specialists of ELAR corporation on a professional equipment which ensured safety of all documents and graphic materials.

Due to the big demand researchers archive materials are exposed to the raised loading therefore in department systematic work on their transfer on electronic media is conducted. It allows to ensure safety of materials and to withdraw originals from direct circulation, - note in the museum. This stage allowed to digitize fund completely

"Own libraries and Arsenals" which contains stocks and directories of Arsenals and libraries of the Winter Palace and also country palaces, documents on receipt and leaving of books and weapon, correspondence, bookplates and so forth Besides, electronic copies were created for the most valuable graphic materials on the history of the Hermitage.

The collection of drawings of the Russian and Soviet artists of the first half of the 20th century who are thematically connected with the Hermitage consists of 400 works of such famous masters as A.N. Benois, G.S. Vereysky, E.K. Lipgart, V.V. Milyutina, etc. In total 13 units of storage, 383 sheets are digitized. We were very happy with the received quality of images which were saved in the TIFF format with the resolution of 600 dpi, tells the senior research associate of Department of manuscripts of the State Hermitage Irina Georgiyevna Yefimova (the curator of the project on digitization of archive materials)

Were digitized, including, the drawings of artists Vera Vladimirovna Milyutina, Adrian Vladimirovich Kaplun and Vasily Nikitich Kuchumov which imprinted a view of halls of the Hermitage in days of blockade and the destructions caused to them. On the instructions of Committee on affairs of arts artists worked in the Hermitage, fixing his military life.

Thanks to this project there was an opportunity to use work electronic copies of affairs for issue on notebooks to researchers in the reading room of archive of the Hermitage. Since 2017 when the joint project of the museum and ELAR corporation was begun, and till November, 2019 one of the leading activities of Department of manuscripts in terms of modern technologies is digitization of documents for creation of their electronic copies. For January 1, 2019 the scientific archive makes 42,000 units of storage, from them within the project 40.5% of documents of the State Hermitage are digitized today and the electronic fund of use is created, speaks Irina Georgiyevna Yefimova

2017

ELAR corporation transfers to a digital form documents from Department of manuscripts and documentary fund of the State Hermitage. In the middle of April, 2017 is going to finish digitization about 9000 cases that will make about a third of all available volume of the documents which are stored in Department of the museum.

The scanned documents reflect a long and difficult way which passed the Hermitage from palace collection of paintings to one of the largest museums of the world. It is possible to find in documents parts of daily occurrence of the museum, nuances and peripetias of its existing. For example, such as official report of the director about an adverse effect of amosovsky heating on pictures, plans and drawings of wiring of ventilation and heating of the Winter Palace. Documents are very demanded by researchers and to save them from wear, having provided access to their electronic copies, digitization is carried out. "Electronic copies of documents will be available to users in the internal computer network, - the manager of Department of manuscripts and documentary fund of the State Hermitage Elizabeth Mikhaelovna Yakovleva says. – The staff of department will provide to users access to copies, and visitors will be able to work with digital images in our reading room".

ELAR corporation in the territory of Department digitizes affairs from Fund 1 "Documents of the Imperial (State) Hermitage" which contains the documents relating to art objects and also to internal rules and procedures in the museum i.e. orders, orders, protocols, put employees, and Fund 4 "Public museum foundation" (1917-1935). "A physical status of the scanned affairs different. In some documents information partially goes to the area of a stitching, however put it is impossible to embroider. But for ELAR digitization of such affairs is a standard task. Specialists transfer documents to a digital format on eighteen planetary scanners of the ELAR Planskan brand. This equipment excludes damage of originals and harmful effects on them of lighters, - the area manager of ELAR corporation on work with the museums Lyudmila Morozkina comments.

ELAR corporation already completes scanning and creation of the PDF versions more than one thousand books from a meeting of Scientific library of the Hermitage. The library of the Hermitage is one of the art criticism museum libraries, oldest and largest in Russia. Here documents on art, history and historical sciences, architecture in Russian and many European and east languages are stored. Unique editions from meetings "Military collections", "Reference books by engravers" and Shtiglitsa Collection represent the most difficult array for digitization. In it there are books of different formats – from A4 to A1, different safety – from not worn-out to very shabby, with the breaking-up cover and the crumbling sheets. For careful scanning of books the professional scanners "ELAR Planskan" and complexes of high-quality scanning of ELAR Pauerskan were used. After scanning and processing of images specialists of ELAR created the PDF version of books with a possibility of implementation of context search. Access to electronic copies of these the sources, most valuable to researchers, is open in the internal computer network of Scientific library of the Hermitage now.

2016

In the State Hermitage the next stage of digitization of collections is completed in the fall of 2016. ELAR corporation for filling of a museum information system KAMIS creates electronic copies of objects of arts and crafts, archeology, a sculpture, numismatics and graphics.

The albums of the 17-19th centuries containing the engraved illustrations, prints in frames are digitized. The specialized equipment was used to scanning of graphics: on the planetary scanner "ELAR Planskan" books and engravings to A2 format are transferred to an electronic form, and on a complex of high-quality scanning of ELAR Pauerskan large-format originals are digitized.

When photofixing objects of arts and crafts, archeology and numismatics (all more than 134 thousand objects are finished shooting) on a production site in the State Hermitage different technological solutions were used. "It is lightboxes for shooting of the glaring objects, the special antiglare washing background which allows to conduct works, without reducing intensity of shooting, rotary tables and other methods", - the project manager Yulia Tsareva told. For photofixing of each exhibit the structure of the personnel and the requirement to configuration individually are selected, light that on the digital personnel all features of a subject allowing to identify objectively it were transferred is put. Among the finished shooting exhibits of arts and crafts there are large-size objects, for example, furniture and also average and small – porcelain, ceramics, jewelry. Three hundred fifty objects of a sculpture from Department of a classical antiquity and Department of the Western European fine arts were also digitized with the annex to each exhibit of a type-setting numerator, color and geometrical scale.

ELAR corporation keeps the project on transfer to a digital form of one of the largest museum meetings of the world within five years. The chief keeper of the State Hermitage Svetlana Adaksina comments: "Technical shooting and digitization of exhibits in the museum were begun in 2012. Along with it in the museum were transferred to an electronic form all stock record books and arrivals books (are scanned and indexed). It is a traditional way for any museum which conducts activities for improvement of the major processes - accounting and storage. The received images of museum objects, and also scans of accounting documentation are loaded into the database KAMIS. Now are transferred more than 1.5 million museum objects to a digital form. In total more than 3 million exhibits are stored in the Hermitage, i.e. a half is digitized. For loading in KAMIS pictures contract, but the museum also has insurance copy of high resolution which afterwards the Hermitage will be able to use in the work on representation of collections".

2012-2014

"The project began in 2012 and proceeds today. We developed process charts, standards and regulations. About thirty people at the same time are on average involved. Singular technological solutions are applied to digitization of objects depending on their specifics" — Alexander Yefimov, the vice president for production of ELAR corporation commented.

According to him to technical shooting and digitization of exhibits of the State Hermitage, works on transfer to an electronic form (scanning and indexing) of all stock record books and arrivals books — a traditional way for any museum which conducts activities for improvement of the major processes preceded: accounting and storage. Daley — works on digitization of museum objects for loading of information and images in the database KAMIS.

"So, what objects were transferred to a digital form and how? It is necessary to tell that all works are carried out in the territory of the Hermitage under control and with direct participation of keepers. Scanning of museum subjects of graphics was carried out on the Planskan ELAR specialized planetary scanners With and complexes of high-quality scanning of ELAR Pauerskan of A0 and 2A0 formats in strict accordance with the color and geometrical scale approved with the staff of the Hermitage" — Mr. Yefimov explained.

According to him within the project several special technological solutions were created: individual supports for providing a required foreshortening when carrying out photographing; the special antiglare background allowing a work message without decrease in intensity of shooting; lightboxes for shooting of the glaring objects.

For photographic works objects and objects of museum fund were separated into large-size (weapon, furniture, crews, carpets, architectural parts, etc.), average and small (porcelain, glass, lace, jewelry). When shooting the top class equipment, in particular, Phase One cameras and the rotary table providing digitization in the necessary foreshortenings was involved.

"It is not simple to remove the objects which are in exposure: chandeliers, carriages, home decoration which cannot be moved. Happens, it is difficult to make a vista shot therefore shooting in halls is made, when there is no visitors, i.e. in the day off" — Mr. Yefimov explained.

In addition to photographing and digitization of objects of museum fund one more direction of the project in the Hermitage is scanning of books from the Ermitazhiana collection. These are the books ever published by the museum, written by his employees and also editions about the Hermitage. In total in a collection about 7000 books.

According to Mr. Shcherbachev 3 million pages of accounting books for filling of a museum system were in total digitized. More than one million objects and objects are digitized. "If to be exact, then 1.3 million. It is the largest digitized museum collection in the world".