"WissensWandel" enables digitization of archive material in the city archive
08.03.2023 – As part of the "WissensWandel" funding program, the city archive has successfully applied for funds amounting to over 40,000 euros. The digital program for libraries and archives within the rescue and future program "Neustart Kultur" of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) is implemented by the German Library Association (dbv). Funding was provided for the purchase of an archive scanner, which enables the professional digitization of larger archive materials. In addition, the digitization of archive material by service providers was also funded. Over 50 Offenbach address books from the period between 1863 and 2002/03 and thus over 35,000 pages are now available in digital form. In addition, 82 film reels in the city archive have been digitized, representing over 17 hours of moving images from or about Offenbach.
Lord Mayor and Head of Cultural Affairs Dr. Felix Schwenke is delighted about the funding and the projects implemented with it: "Thanks to the funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, our city archive can further expand its digital services for users. The address books in particular, some of which are over 150 years old, are in high demand and are now available digitally - an online service is already being examined. And thanks to digitization, the film holdings can be permanently preserved and secured.
Digitization was also urgently needed for reasons of preservation. In the case of the films, digitization now makes it possible for the first time to view and, in the long term, use the film material. Access to the address books, which are already in high demand, is now also easier. The city archive is currently examining how the data can be made accessible online; in the medium term, it should be available via an archive information system or a library catalog. "Viewing the films and checking the authorship will take some time," explains city archivist Lukas Svatek-Storch. He has already viewed a few films and, according to Svatek-Storch, the collection is "diverse" in terms of quality and content: "Some of the filmmakers obviously had high standards for their films, both conceptually and in terms of technical realization." One special film, however, is the oldest from 1925, which shows the procession for the 80th anniversary of the volunteer fire department. "We want to preserve Offenbach's film heritage and make it accessible as far as possible," continues the city archivist, "so anyone who still has film treasures about Offenbach at home is welcome to contact us."
With the archive scanner, the city archive can also professionally scan larger formats of the graphic and photographic holdings, "The fact that we were able to purchase the archive scanner and the associated equipment thanks to the generous funding from "WissensWandel" and thus now have the necessary technical infrastructure creates good conditions for the digitization of archive material and thus the future use of our holdings on Offenbach's multifaceted city history"
