History of Digitization

I learned recently that the Library of Congress was one of the first institutions to begin digitizing their collection. In order to deal with lack of space, the library needed an innovative way to store the same amounts of infortmation in a smaller space. Individual pages were scanned and stored on twelve inch laser discs. The appropriate discs were then retrieved juke-box style and patrons could view the pages on monitors. This would be an example of digitization in a public library of sorts.

To see the pilot program firsthand, view this video about the Library of Congress on RealPlayer. The file can be found at this link:

http://streaming.lib.wayne.edu:8080/ramgen/special/mika/mikaF02.rm