1 Reply Latest reply on Jul 26, 2017 10:35 AM by Brandi Oswald

    Duplication of "Aperture Card" Records?

    techhistorynerd Adventurer
    techhistorynerd Jul 23, 2017 11:05 PM

      The College Park Cartographic records list a RG255 holding for the plans for the Hubble Space Telescope:

       

      https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5928349

       

      They list a Media type I've not encountered before - "Aperture Card."  I know what this is in general, but I'm unsure a) if NARA has the ability to duplicate such records digitally and b) if they do, which fee schedule would apply.  (Microform or Microfiche seem like they're probably relevant, but "Aperture Card" doesn't map unambiguously to one of those for the uninitiated...)

       

      Also, if these are in fact the "Aperture Cards" such as those depicted by Wikipedia (Aperture card - Wikipedia) is there any "do it yourself" scanning option that is both technically feasible and allowable at the Archives?  (No matter which fee schedule applies, 1.4+ million drawings rather gives one pause...)

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        • Re: Duplication of "Aperture Card" Records?
          Newbie
          Brandi Oswald Expert Jul 26, 2017 10:35 AM (in response to techhistorynerd)

          Hello. Aperture cards are indeed very similar to microform or microfiche. The picture shown on the Wikipedia article that you linked to (Aperture card - Wikipedia ) gives an idea of what this media types looks like.

           

          Presently, the Cartographic Branch does not have an aperture card reader. Aperture cards may be viewed on our microfilm readers. The Cartographic Research Room (Room 3050) has multiple readers available, including several Minolta Readers that can print.  Print copies may be made from these readers at a charge of $0.40 per page (per card in this case). The Cartographic Research Room does not have any microfilm scanners. While it may be possible to have a small number of aperture cards transported to the Microfilm Reading Room to utilize their microfilm scanners, the easiest way to duplicate these records digitally, especially given the large number of aperture cards in this series, would be to photograph the microfilm reader screen to capture an image of the aperture card. See #ResearcherProTip: Microfilm Made Easy for tips about photography and microfilm readers.

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