Syzran Museum of Local Lore launches digitization of collections with the help of ElarSkan

2025: Materials digitization begins

The Syzran Museum of Local Lore, one of the oldest museums in the Samara province, has begun digitizing its materials using ElarSkan A2-400R. Elar announced this on July 16, 2025.

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Фото: Elar

The project includes the digitization of the Main Inventory Book (GIC) of the museum, consisting of 30 volumes, as well as rare books from a collection of more than 1,100 items.

The main inventory book is one of the main accounting documents of the museum, and its daily use by employees of the stock work sector makes it necessary to create digital copies. Given the museum's more than 100-year history, a number of books are in a dilapidated state, and their constant use may lead to the loss of information about the objects included in the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation. In accordance with paragraph 6.25 of the Unified Rules for Organizing the Acquisition, Accounting, Storage and Use of Museum Items approved by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to ensure insurance copying of the main accounting documentation. When registering museums in the register of the Museum Fund, the attachment of scanned images of the sheets of books of receipts of each volume is provided.

In addition, the digitization of rare books from the museum's collection is aimed at preserving cultural heritage. The creation of electronic copies of rare specimens prevents their disappearance in the event of a fire or natural disaster. Digitization also reduces the wear of originals and allows them to be recreated in case of loss. Electronic copies of rare publications provide remote access to catalogs and funds, which opens up access to previously inaccessible materials and greatly simplifies the work of researchers.

The ElarScan A2-400R scanner, installed in the museum, is equipped with replaceable flat and V-shaped pressure windows, which allows you to align the pages of the originals both in flat scanning mode and in V-mode with incomplete opening by 120 degrees. The manual mechanism of raising and lowering the glass makes it possible to control the pressing force, which is especially important when working with damaged, fragile and valuable originals. The scanner also has a convertible cradle for scanning stitched-up originals, making it an ideal tool for digitizing museum collections.

: Digitizing our collections is an important step towards preserving cultural heritage. We are confident that digital copies will make our rare editions available to a wider audience and help in scientific research, said Natalya Anatolyevna Dektyareva, chief curator of museum objects of the MBU "Local History Museum of the city of Syzran."

The Syzran Museum of Local Lore, founded in 1923-1925, contains more than 55,000 items of storage, including ethnographic materials, a numismatic collection and paleontology items. The museum actively participates in cultural projects and develops excursion routes, which makes it a modern cultural center of the Samara region.

Thus, the digitization of collections with the help of ElarScan A2-400R will not only preserve the materials of the museum, but will also open up new opportunities for their use and research.