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View Full Version : How to Digitize Eight Million Books


Edlin
03-01-2004, 04:45 PM
Article Link (http://www.honco.net/os/index.html)

Stanford University has an ambitious project to digitalise 8 million books.
http://www.honco.net/os/img/pics/p_robot.jpg

At its current rate of 1,000 pages per hour, we can scan about 5,000 books in one eight-hour shift. Let's say we put people to work three shifts a day. Now we're talking about 15,000 books. Previously, we might have been able to do 3,000 books a day. But one machine is not going to be enough to digitize eight million books in my lifetime. It would take about 300 years, as a matter of fact. So something else has to happen. We could buy five more machines, or we could support a service bureau that has, maybe, 100 machines. There are also developments that will be happening over the course of the next few years, both with the camera technology and the robotic technology, that will enable us to increase to 2,000 pages per hour. That's beginning to sound pretty good.

Article Link (http://www.honco.net/os/index.html)

Need
03-05-2004, 04:52 PM
Something doesn't sound right. If they can only scan 1000 pages per hour, how could they scan 5000 books per 8 hours shift? Each book has less than 2 pages? :p

And if they are able to actually scan 15000 books a day, it would not take 300 years to scan 8 million books! It will only take 534 days which is less than 2 years.

Edlin
03-07-2004, 05:19 PM
Yes, sounds much more like hes talking about pages not books re 15,000 / day. Which would account for esitmate of 300 years come out about right for 8,000,000 books at 200 pp/book at 15000 pp/day.