Free and fast scanning is the latest development at the state’s largest research library.
When it comes to doing research from shelved books at Hamilton Library on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa campus, the evolution looks something like this: Borrow books and return them before the due date. Insert coins into large clunky photocopiers, then wait to process every page. Use a cell phone to take photos of book pages. Until now.
“We are very proud of this major upgrade in copying services that we offer to our library users,” said Monica Ghosh, interim university librarian. “We have invested in scanners that will provide better technology while reducing paper waste, resulting in our campus community and the public benefiting greatly.”
Three professional scanners—representing an investment of $24,000—were recently installed at Hamilton Library and are now available for public use:
- A Knowledge Imaging Center (KIC) BookEdge scanner in the alcove on the first floor has a 12 by 7 inch flatbed that allows scanning well into the fold of books.
- Two KIC Click mini scanners in the alcove and fifth-floor Hawaiian and Pacific Collections Reading Room can handle documents up to 12.25 by 19.2 inches, 30 pages per minute.
Users may send the scanned documents to themselves via email or save them to USB drives. An additional option is to download an app and send the document to a mobile device and/or as an audio file to be ADA compliant for users who are visually challenged.
“We will be running our photocopiers and newly installed scanners side-by-side until mid-April to July of this year, when most of the copiers are at the end of their leasing period and will be phased out,” said Ghosh. “We are obligated to have a copier for government documents, so there will always be one in the building. But the scanners are free, whereas the copiers are not.”
Happily testing out a new scanner on a recent school day was Sayaka Sakuma, a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Environment at the College of Social Sciences. “It took me only a minute to figure out how to use it,” said Sakuma. “Now I don’t have to carry around 10 library books before I have to return them. Scanning makes a huge difference.”
