PROCESS
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
(AND MUCH, MUCH MORE)
Old pictures, videos, and documents tell the story of your personal history. Digitization not only allows you to explore this history on any device, at any time, from anywhere, it can also help connect others to your history as well when you create a digital archive.
Before you begin, you need to go on a treasure hunt to find all of your printed and recorded memories and family history. You will likely be surprised by how much you have accumulated over the years. Check the shelves of your closet, the keepsake boxes you have stored in the basement, bookshelves, entertainment system, cedar chests, storage lockers, desk drawers, office, file cabinets, or anywhere you may have put them for safekeeping. You will be amazed at what you find that you have forgotten, and will likely find things you haven’t seen in years.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Evaluate the photos, videos, books, and documents in your collection and decide what you would like to include in your archive. It is helpful to split the materials by format and evaluate each type independently. It is much easier to find and remove duplicate items and weed out materials that you don’t want to digitize.
Visit HistoryIsEverything.com and navigate to the "Get Started Page". Here you will be able to select the type of documents, photos, videos, audio, or books you would like included in your digital archive, and how many of each, then submit the order form. You can also learn more about the services by clicking "Details" on each service, and add to your order from there.
Download the inventory and indexing worksheets from our website and let us know about the items in your collection. The description will be used to help make your materials discoverable through the search engine on your "My History Archive". You can add as much information as you would like in the description field.
Based on the type and quantity of original materials you will be adding to your archive, we will send you enough boxes, and prepaid shipping labels for you to send them to us. Once you have the boxes, remove the included identifier labels, and follow the instructions for identifying each item. Each label will coincide with a line on the worksheet you downloaded from HistoryIsEverything.com.
Fill the boxes with your documents, scrapbooks, family records, pictures, home movies, slides, audiotapes, journals, yearbooks, children’s artwork, keepsakes, awards, newspaper clippings, negatives, report cards, and/or any other paper of photographic materials you would like to digitize. Don’t forget to include the worksheet you downloaded from HistoryIsEverything.com describing each piece.
Take the boxes to UPS or schedule for them to be picked up at your home. We will take over from there!
WHAT WE WILL DO
Once the boxes containing your history arrive at our facility, we will do a full inventory of what we received, and verify the labels on the material match the line items on your worksheet. If there are any discrepancies in the quantity or type of materials you initially ordered, or clarification is needed on identifying an item, a History Is Everything associate will contact you to discuss the issue and how we can resolve it.
The items will be carefully prepared for digitization by our experienced team of preservation associates. Your documents, photos, and/or videos will be digitized to your specification or in the manner best suited for the type of materials you have provided.
Once your history has been converted to digital files, they will be processed by our digital image specialists. The process includes cropping images to remove excess space captured during scanning, deskewing the images, splitting any multi-page scans into single-page images, and any audio or video optimization that may be required.
After the digital images, video, or audio have been processed, our quality control team will inspect the files, and ensure that each has been processed correctly, and address any exceptions. After the files have completed our first quality control pass, they will be delivered to our digital asset management team to be prepared for loading into your "My History Archive".
An index will be created from the worksheet you downloaded from HistoryIsEverything.com, and the description will be added to the search engine. We will OCR any text documents, and they will also become searchable. Additional information and metadata will be added to the record, and multiple file types will be created for various uses in your archive. After everything has been configured, we will deploy it all to your "My History Archive".
A second quality assurance pass will be performed to make sure the archive has been indexed correctly, and the files are easily discoverable. Once everything has been verified, your documents will be prepared for return, inventoried, carefully packed, and shipped back to you in the exact condition that we received them.
HOW WE KNOW WHAT TO DO
To ensure we title and index the collection to your specifications, we have created a worksheet template for creating an inventory that includes descriptions and indexing instructions. We will use the completed spreadsheet as our roadmap for building your digital archive. The worksheet template is a .csv file and can be opened in Excel or Google Sheets.
In addition to the mandatory fields like document or media type, title, date, city, state, etc., you will have the option of adding a detailed description or transcription which we will associate with the digital image. The description will be used to help make your materials discoverable through the search engine on your "My History Archive".
If there is already printed text on a document or photo, we can use OCR to make the documents keyword searchable, and any information added to the description field would be appended to the OCR text when it is ingested into our search engine.
Unfortunately, we can’t OCR directly from handwriting. If the documents are handwritten or pictures do not have any associated text, you can add your own description to the spreadsheet, and we will add that description to our search engine. You can add as much information as you would like in the description field.
When we send you the boxes for shipping, we will include identifier labels that are numbered. We ask that you put these labels on your materials so the number on the label matches the number of the entry on the worksheet template.
If you would like us to scan batches of items with the same title or description, we make that simple too. Just add the identifier label to the grouping of documents, photos, or videos, and add a single title to your spreadsheet. Any item in that grouping will share the same title and associated data but scanned in sequential order.
WHAT YOU GET
Your personal history recorded in photos, videos, slides, negatives, books, and paper, transformed into high quality, secure, and portable digital images delivered on a set of DVDs or an 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB USB flash drive containing your complete archive, allowing you to view the images or videos on your DVD player, or upload them to your favorite photo management cloud service. You can make as many duplicates as you would like of the DVD or flash drive, so you can make extra backups or create a copy to share with family and friends.
- A single DVD will hold approximately 2 hours of video, or around 400 - 600 photos (depending on the resolution), or around 4.5GB.
- An 8GB USB drive can hold between 750-1,000 images or 3.5 hours of video.
- A 16GB USB drive can hold between 1500-2,000 images or 7 hours of video.
- A 32GB USB drive can hold between 3000-4000 images or 14 hours of video.
We also offer an optional 500GB or 1TB USB hard drives that can be purchased for larger collections. Due to its large capacity, storing your collection on an external drive is more convenient than managing multiple DVDs or if your collection is greater than 32GB. Depending on the resolution, these high capacity drives can store tens of thousands of images and days worth of video.
- A 500GB USB external hard drive can be purchased for $100. Depending on the image quality and file size, a 500GB hard drive has the storage capacity for nearly 50,000 images or over 200 hours of video.
- The price for delivery on a 1TB USB external hard drive is $150, and it can hold over 100,000 images or close to 400 hours of video.
A "My History Archive", an online search platform that allows your history to be accessible, easily be viewed, explored, and shared from anywhere at any time. Your "_______.HistoryArchive.Online" will allow you to explore your past in a new way, and share it with others. The "My History Archive" is user-friendly and easy to learn. We have focused on making it as simple as possible so that everyone can browse, search, view, clip, and share your family’s past, but powerful enough for more robust research.
You will be able to just type a keyword or phrase and hit “enter”, or create a more complex search by using the more advanced query builder. There is also the ability to simply browse to a specific year, month, day, or file in any (or all) materials contained in the archive. The "My History Archive" can be password protected to keep your collection private, or you may choose to make it accessible to anyone. By making your archive available to others, family history research can be shared, discovered, and expanded on through collaboration with other genealogists or those with a shared family connection.
You have the ability to add to your collection and grow your digital archive whenever you would like. You will be able to explore any of our hundreds of Community History Archives from institutions across the country, or any open to use "My History Archive" from individuals that have made their collection available, and add the clips or pages you find to your own archive with a few mouse clicks.
As part of your subscription to your "My History Archive", we will maintain backups of your digital collections on our secure servers. You may request a copy of your archive be sent to you in the event your DVD, HDD, flash drive has been lost or damaged. You will only be charged for the replacement media.
WHAT YOU WILL PAY
There are two pieces that will determine how much you will invest: the services and the "My History Archive" subscription. The cost of the services we provide will depend on the volume and type of material you will want to digitize and upload to your "My History Archive". When you place your order, you will select a number of materials in each service category, and it will be multiplied by the price per unit.
If counting the exact number of documents, photos, slides, or hours of video you have, seems like a daunting task, contact us. Our associates have been doing this for a long time, and have seen collections of every size and shape. They can help you estimate the quantities and give you some “rules of thumb” to help you add the estimated number to your online order.
- If you underestimate the quantity, we will contact you to discuss options to complete the project, or find a logical stopping point.
- If you overestimate the quantity, we will provide you with a credit for the difference that can be applied to a future order, allowing you to add more material to your archive, or it can be applied to your "My History Archive" subscription.
- If you send us original materials we cannot digitize in accordance with US Copyright and international copyright laws, we will issue a credit for those materials.
If the materials you send us are fragile, or we categorize them as “at-risk” because of damage, deterioration, or if special handling will be required due to age, we will immediately contact you to discuss options before we begin.
There is no charge for shipping your items to us, and we will send you boxes and shipping labels determined to the type of materials and quantity of each as indicated in your order. We will return all of your materials, as well as a DVD of all your digital files at no charge. Delivery of your digital images via Cloud Service or FTP is also free.
Optionally, you can choose to have your digital images written to a USB hard drive at an additional price. All orders are subject to a $99 project management fee. This project management fee will be waived on all orders over $199
The "My History Archive" subscription includes the online hosting, search platform, and access tools that power your archive, transforming your collection of files into an archive that can be explored for new discoveries, reliving old memories, or seeing history through the eyes of your ancestors. You can share what you discover with others, and connect with your past in a way you could not with a box of old photos, a scrapbook of clippings, or a DVD of pictures.
Your subscription will be charged monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on the package you choose. Your first 3 months are FREE, after which you will be billed in accordance with the subscription you selected at the time you placed the order:
- Monthly: $7.99
- Quarterly: $18.99
- Annual: $49.99
You can cancel this subscription at any time. Upon cancelation, we will remove any of your files from our servers, and dispose of the backups so you retain full control of your materials.
If at any time you would like to resume your subscription, you can simply send us a copy of your DVD or USB Hard Drive, and we will ingest it into the "My History Archive" for a small charge determined by the size of your collection.
HOW TO GROW YOUR ARCHIVE
Your personal history doesn’t begin or end with a single document, book, or the research that was put into developing a family tree. Your history has been recorded in countless formats over the years, from letters, photos, and video, to old family recipes, journals, and newspaper clippings. No matter the format, size, or quantity, it is likely we have the tools and experience to ensure your past is preserved for the future, yet accessible in the present.
Photos can tear, fade, or discolor. Videos and film can become brittle and crack or break, it is easy to scratch, and plastic cassettes are not as durable as you might think. Paper is fragile, making it vulnerable, and at risk of being lost to the ravages of time.
By digitizing your past, and creating a "My History Archive", you will be able to explore, view, and share your collection from anywhere in the world, at any time, using an Apple iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, computer, Mac, Chromebook, or even a smart TV.
We can archive:
Printed Photos, Slides, Photo Negatives, Scrapbooks, Family History Books, Yearbooks, Journals, Diaries, Family Trees, Genealogical Research, Annuals, Census Records, Local History Books, Programs, Cookbooks, Newsletters, Record Books, Ledgers, Meeting Minutes, Directories, Manuscripts, Visitor Books, Muster Rolls, Documents, Marriage Certificates, Birth Announcements, Obituaries, Death Notices, Children’s Artwork, Postcards,
Church Records, Correspondence, Handouts, Recipe Cards, Newspapers, Clippings, Memorabilia, Military Records, Drawings, Awards, Index Cards, Maps, Meeting Minutes, Heritage Collections, Property Records, Abstracts, Schedules, Bulletins, Immigration Records, Public Announcements, Transcripts, Oral Histories, Greeting Cards, Home Movies, Microfilm, Digital Photos, and almost anything else you can think of.
ARCHIVE ALMOST ANYTHING
Content That Is Protected By Copyright
We strictly adhere to US Copyright Law and respect the rights to the creator’s intellectual and creative properties, therefore we will not copy, transfer, duplicate or digitize, without written permission of the rights holder.
This may include:
- Recorded TV or studio movies
- Commercially copyrighted materials
- Photographs that the photographer has retained the rights to
- Video, audio, or printed materials published or recorded after 1924 that are protected by copyright, and you have not received written permission of the rights holder.
Objectionable Content
Any material of “adult nature” including nudity or pornography, materials promoting hate, racism, sexism, or other materials considered to be obscene or objectionable
Personally Identifiable Information
We also request that you add no personally identifiable information that could potentially be used to identify a particular living person. Examples include Social Security numbers, driver's license number, bank account number, passport number, telephone numbers, or email address.
If you send us original materials we cannot digitize in accordance with US Copyright and international copyright laws or content we find to be objectionable, we will issue a credit for those materials, which can be applied to a future order, allowing you to add more materials to your archive, or it can be applied to your "My History Archive" subscription.
When you begin the checkout process on HistoryIsEverything.com, you will be presented with an agreement that must be reviewed prior to submitting your order. It states that you either own the rights or have written consent to use all the materials you will be sent to us for digitization and hosting.
When you agree, it will indemnify and hold harmless the owners, management, employees, associates, and anyone that represents HistoryIsEverything.com or Advantage Archives Archive harmless from all costs, damages, liabilities, and expenses suffered by in relation to or arising from any misrepresentation or omission related to the copyright or violation of the intellectual property of the rights holder.
However, you CAN add any content you would like that you may not “own” if it lives in the Public Domain. “Public Domain” refers to works not protected by intellectual property laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever “own it”
CONTACT US
Do you have any questions? We’re here to help. Our Customer Advocates are standing by to answer any questions you may have. We’re looking forward to connecting with you!
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CALL US
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GROW YOUR ARCHIVE
Your personal history isn’t doesn’t begin or end with a single document, book, or the research that was put into developing a family tree. Your history has been recorded in countless formats over the years, from letters, photos, and video, to old family recipes, journals, and newspaper clippings. Not only is it impractical to organize and access your physical original materials, handling them too often leads to damage and eventually, loss. Photos can tear, fade, or discolor. Videos and film can become brittle and crack or break, it is easy to scratch, and plastic cassettes are not as durable as you might think. Paper is fragile, making it vulnerable, and at risk of being lost to the ravages of time.
The originals should be stored properly for safekeeping and handled as little as possible. Fortunately, preserving the original materials does not mean you can’t have access to them. On the contrary, you have the option of making them more accessible than ever before. By digitizing your past, and creating a "My History Archive", you will be able to explore, view, and share your collection from anywhere in the world, at any time, using an Apple iPad, iPhone, Android phone or tablet, computer, Mac, Chromebook, or even a smart TV.
We can archive:
Printed Photos, Slides, Photo Negatives, Scrapbooks, Family History Books, Yearbooks, Journals, Diaries, Family Trees, Genealogical Research, Annuals, Census Records, Local History Books, Programs, Cookbooks, Newsletters, Record Books, Ledgers, Meeting Minutes, Directories, Manuscripts, Visitor Books, Muster Rolls, Documents, Marriage Certificates, Birth Announcements, Obituaries, Death Notices, Children’s Artwork, Postcards, Church Records, Correspondence, Handouts, Recipe Cards, Newspapers, Clippings, Memorabilia, Military Records, Drawings, Awards, Index Cards, Maps, Meeting Minutes, Heritage Collections, Property Records, Abstracts, Schedules, Bulletins, Immigration Records, Public Announcements, Transcripts, Oral Histories, Greeting Cards, Home Movies, Microfilm, Digital Photos...
...and almost anything else you can think of!
Additionally, you can leverage the hundreds of free Community History Archives created by libraries, genealogical societies, heritage centers, and other institutions across the country. We have made it simple to clip articles or other sections of documents and add them to your "My History Archive" with just a few clicks. You can also explore, clip, and share information you find on any "My History Archive" that an owner has made available to use as a free resource for others.