The Quesnel Branch of the Cariboo Regional District Library has welcomed a new addition to its range of library services with the acquisition of an ST200 digital microfilm viewer and scanner with the assistance of a Community Access Program (CAP) grant which the CRDL received a few years ago.
The ScanWrite system is of particular interest to genealogists and is designed so library patrons can walk up to the system and immediately start using it. It provides the user with not just a viewing platform but also the ability to scan, edit, print, burn to CD or save their data to USB so they can download it to genealogy programs on their home computers.
The system scans an entire page of a newspaper or census on microfilm, not just the portion you see on the screen. It has an incredible zoom range, can rotate images for easier viewing, will “mirror” an image so it doesn’t matter which way you load the film and view positive or negative films.
The scanner scans directly from the film and not from an image projected on the screen giving a crisper, sharper result. The automatic electric focus means there is no more twisting of a zoom lens.
We promote this for genealogy but it is really of interest to anyone who has a need for this type of equipment.
Microfilm of various newspapers and census can be ordered through the Quesnel Library from several institutions through interlibrary loan.
We suggest once your microfilm has arrived you book a time to use the viewer as we expect demand to be quite high.
In other Friends’ news, we held our AGM on Feb. 10 with a full slate of officers elected for the upcoming year. We are pleased with the turnouts we’ve had for our various presentations and special programs. There will be several more this winter so watch for those notices around the City and on the Library webpage as no dates are presently available.
Gloria Lazzarin is a member of Friends of the Library.