The Washington State Jewish Historical Society Acquires the First BookEye 5 V1A Scanner in the Pacific Northwest

March 23, 2023

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CONTACT: Cora Miller, coram@wsjhs.org, (206) 774-2277

The Washington State Jewish Historical Society Acquires the First BookEye 5 V1A Scanner in the Pacific Northwest

Seattle, WA (March 23, 2023): In February of this year, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society (WSJHS)received a special delivery: the BookEye 5 V1A. This top-of-the-line, archival-grade scanner was purchased with state funding granted to the WSJHS for building a digital archive. The machine, which lives at the Society’s office, is currently the only one of this model in the entire Pacific Northwest and only one of 22 in the entire nation.

This scanner plays a key role in growing the WSJHS digital collection, called the “Washington Jewish Memory Archive.” Photographs, letters, documents, books, and more are captured in every detail and permanently preserved as high-resolution digital files on Permanent.org, the Society’s chosen archival platform.

The scanner will also prove instrumental in establishing the archive’s family portal section—an option for interested families and organizations to contribute to the state’s Jewish history by adding their own folder within the archive—and emphasizes the community-centric nature of the project.

For organizations in need of scanning, the WSJHS is happy to foster partnerships. On April 18 and 19, the Society is hosting two public Open House events at their office to demonstrate the scanner’s capabilities.

On June 15, the WSJHS is hosting a fundraising event in honor of the launch of their new digital archive. After the showcase, scanning appointments will be available: priority will be given to members and donors, but appointments are open to all who wish to donate a digital copy of their artifact(s) to the WSJHS archive. Donations are requested for these appointments and usage of the scanner.