The Green Sheet 016

INCORPORATING THE MICROGRAPHICS MARKET PLACE AND THE MICROGRAPHICS NEWSLETTER

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX inalphabehcalorder Advance Group................................................... 2 Alos................................................................ 21 Anacomp............................................................5 Data Imaging & Archiving.................................... 17 D S S U K ............................................................ 17 e-Im ageData.................................................... 21 Eyecom..............................................................2 Film Scan Technologies....................................... 11 GG B aker........................................................... 6 Global Marketplace.............................................23 K od a k..............................................................24 M B S.................................................................15 MicroVue Products................................................9 nextScan..........................................................22 Response Technical Services................................ 14 Russ Bassett..................................................... 10 Solar Microfilm Equipment................................... 18 Sourcecorp....................................................... 2o The Microfilm S h o p .......................................... 9,18 Trans Media Technology........................................ 3

ADVERTISERS RATES 2003 W o r k s t a t io n ™

Advertising Data (U K & Europe)

Type Area (mm)

The high-resolution digital retrieval system that captures microform images and a llo w s yo u to print, e n h a n ce and distribute them by fax or e-mail.

Double page spread Outside back cover Full page Half page Quarter page Front page solus Eighth page Advertising Data ( U S

Cost

2 7 5 x 400 2 7 5 x 190 2 7 5 x 190 138 x 190 or 2 7 5 x 9 3 138 x 93 or 69 x 190 120x93 69x93

£1200.00 £ 800.00 £ 650.00 £ 400.00 £ 250.00 £ 325.00 £ 150.00

& Canada) Type Area (inches)

Double page spread Outside back cover Full page Half page Quarter page Front page solus Eighth page

1 0 1/4 x 13 '>• 1 0 1,4 x 7 ,/1 0 ’,4 x 7 v‘ 5 Vl x 7 or 10 1/4x 3 v5 v’ x 3 or 2 ,/‘ x 7 ,/4 1/4x 3 !/‘ 2 1/4 x 3 v*

Cost US $2016.00 US$1120.00 U S $ 910.00 U S $ 560.00 U S $ 350.00 U S $ 455.00 U S $ 210.00

Colour rates: A ll above rates are for full colour advertising.

Artwork should be supplied as 3 0 0 dpi images on C D or Z ip Disk as TIFF,

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THIS MAGAZINE AND THE CONTENTS ARE COPYRIGHT OF THE PUBLISHERS

Laurie has agreed to produce a little editorial material each month for The Green Sheet - this will add to the global wide appeal of the magzine. His first piece asks the intriguing question - “Is Records Management to be the next new Buzzw ord?”

Laurie Varendorff has been a Professional, Associate Member “A R M A ” of the Records Management Association of Australia “R M A A ” since the early 1990’s and the immediate past President, Western Australian Branch and a Federal Board Member 1999-2001. Laurie was the Chair of the sub committee of the RMAA, W A Branch dealing with the State Records legislation from the mid 1998’s through to its Launch as the State Records Act 2000 on the 6th March 2002.

Laurie Varendorff had his first exposure to Records Management back in 1962 while employed with a well known Insurance Company in Elizabeth St, Sydney as part of the M otor Vehicle Claims Section. Laurie then followed up this exposure with a stint with the Records Management Section of the British Mission to the United Nations in New York in 1964-65.

On his return to Australia in 1970, Laurie worked with Rank Xerox [now Fuji Xerox] in their Photocopying Sales Division. In 1974 Laurie was promoted to the position of Manager, Perth CopiCentre for Rank Xerox in Wellington St, West Perth, a position he held until 1976.

In 1976 Laurie started his own Copy Centre at 158 St Georges Terrace, Perth, “Perth Copy M art” and continued in that business up until M ay 1998 as 1P1-Microforms. Over the years additional products and services were added, with Microfilm

PAGf 3

Green Sheet acquires services of man "Down-Under” Laurie Varendorff, a Records Managem ent consultant based in Australia, will attempt to keep us all up to date with what goes on "D ow n-U nd er”

bureau production in 1979, and Micrographic Equipment Sales and Service in 1985.

In 1990 digital document scanning was added to the Bureau facilities offered plus the sale and servicing of the Canon range of [40, A4 page per minute] Canofile 250 stand alone scanner, indexing and retrieval systems. In 1993 the RecFind range of Records Management Software was added to the services provided.

Today Laurie specialises in Records Management Consultancy Services in Electronic Records Management issues, functional thesaurus and file plan construction plus the documenting of general disposal authorities “G DA” schedules and the auditing of Records Management installations, plus the provision of training workshops in all aspects of Records Management.

Contact Details: Email: Laurie.Varendorff@bigpond.com Voice: +61 8 9291 6925 Mobile: 0417 094 147

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Microfiche and the evolution of storage and retrieval mediums a focus on the British Library, by Anacomp Like m any public and private sector organisations, the British Library has inform ation which needs to be stored cost-effectively and conveniently, and yet be easily retrievable. The British Library needs to store its catalogues in a format which can be held locally, without taking up too much space and which can be viewed with ease.

Microfiche was chosen as the medium to replace or supplement paper and card catalogues - a space saving medium. For many years the British Library, as a valued long-term customer, has asked Anacom p to produce its microfiche. A trend has been spotted which suggests libraries are m oving away from fiche towards alternative mediums. This feature aims to highlight why this may be and understand w hy some of the alternatives are better suited to libraries’ requirements.

The British Library originally used A nacom p’s M icrofiche services for 2 purposes: 1. Ledger Finance Records 2. Catalogues of Collections M icrofiche allowed the flexibility to store large am ounts of this inform ation on small volum es of fiche. The am ount of space taken up by microfiche was modest compared to the equivalent on paper and card. “Take a selection of fiche catalogues which can sit on a desk, rather than a union catalogue which could occupy a room or printed catalogues which fill up bookcases and the advantages soon become clear”, explained lan Peckett of The British Library.

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The British Library usually puts at least 330,000 original frames on 1,700 original fiche with 62,000 duplicates each month.

The inform ation put onto microfiche holds im portant reference inform ation on the Libra ry’s collections, for example listing by Author / Title, Subject Heading, Pressmark etc, which must be accurate and easily searchable.

The inform ation requires updating with new items and amendments to the original records on a regular basis.

These updates are entered electronically and processed on the mainframe system. The mainframe updates the various catalogue masterfiles, which can contain up to 2.6 million records. For the majority o f the catalogues, the British Library then updates formatted files to which a copy o f all the new, changed or deleted records will be applied. These processes may be weekly, fortnightly or m onthly depending on which product is being updated and the number of records being catalogued. C O M cartridges are then created so that the current version or cumulative issue o f fiche can be produced. For the products that are to be sold, a checkset is created for approval before the final copies are produced. Once the inform ation has been updated, the old inform ation becomes obsolete and the old microfiche can be discarded.

Users o f the microfiche include research and academic libraries, British Library cataloguing staff and the staff and

public at the British Library reading rooms. In the reading rooms, microfiche is used by readers and staff to locate items held.

“In the early days turnaround times were important. As time has gone on and new m eans found, the speed o f turnaround has become less critical. The British Library used to need the copies o f customer transactions fiche back within 48 hours, so that they could deal with any customer queries which may have arisen. That was in the days when we used to have a charged online public access catalogue (OPAC). Now our OPAC is free and so have no use for that product”, said lan Peckett.

The fiche catalogues have rapidly become a backup media as it is now quicker and more convenient to search for items online. This is the same situation for many customers.

Fiche is a good medium for storage and retrieval but there are now other products available which are more suited to the specific requirements of individual customers.

Anacom p have developed their offerings over the years to cater for the different requirements of customers. Offerings have been extended to CD and Online Docum ent Solutions.

M a n y public sector organisations utilise Anacom p’s CD Services as well as a num ber o f commercial customers.

Anacom p’s in-house and outsourced online solutions are also key mediums for environments where information needs to be held in more than one location, and accessed third parties such as suppliers and partners. A further reason for using electronic media, as the British Library has noted, is when inform ation is regularly updated. Electronic media can often reduce the am ount of processing that the data has to go through compared to continuing with the more traditional methods. Electronic media can facilitate: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Easy Access to Inform ation Access by a number o f people sim ultaneously V iew ing from multiple and remote locations User Access Restrictions Audit System Capability to record all logins, searches and retrievals System Security Flexibility and Scalability

M a n y organisations are m oving towards electronic media because they suit the nature o f their business requirements and have a better fit with the needs of users. However, fiche still remains a valuable medium, particularly if there is an archive requirement. Customers often opt for a com bination solution. “The British Library sees itself as a store for the w orld’s knowledge - helping people to advance knowledge to enrich lives. Fiche and film have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, an important part of the British Library’s collection. It forms part of the Library’s unique collection, preserving items that would be otherwise lost.” concluded lan Feckett.

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World's largest Legal Microfilm Operation adds Digital Access A hybrid system will give thousands of users access to 100 million page images The Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC), a non-profit library cooperative that has more than 900 participating library members in 22 countries and 5,000+ law librarians as its principal customer base, is one of the world’s largest ongoing microfilm operations and it will continue to be just that. At the same time, LLM C is joining others going to the digital dance. It has just announced the launch of a digital library, LLMC-Digital, through which its entire filmed backfile (about 45 million page images), and all future filming, will be available on-line to patrons of subscribing libraries. Over the next decade, LLM C expects to capture another 55 million page images, so that by 2013 clients will have access to some 100 million page images, both on-line and on film.

LLMC-Digital will be marketed under a fee schedule involving annual subscriptions tied to the level of anticipated usage within each subscribing library. A Charter Subscription solicitation bas gone out - with Charter memberships open until July 31 - and early returns are “looking pretty good” according to LLMC executive director Jerry Dupont.

While LLM C will be providing new access to its materials with its on­ line service, Dupont adds, “a fundamental part of our programme is that we will not abandon analogue media. LLMC will continue to make the full range of its materials available in microfiche format to libraries desiring local backup. More importantly, we pledge the retention of an analogue format, currently silver halide film, as the storage medium of choice for long-term preservation. By merging the two technologies LLM C expects to achieve maximum access alongside maximum preservation.”

Handling the Backfile Digitisation of LLM C ’s backfile will be outsourced to service bureau, Micrographics Equipment Services, Lansing, Illinois. The Digital Library Extension Service University of Michigan will house the new web site, on will be accessible.

a commercial Inc. (MES1), (DLXS) of the which LLM C-

LLM C backfile materials are being scanned from film by MES1 at 300 dpi. Enhancements such as deskewing, despecking, border whitening, etc. are done at the initial scanning. The resulting TIFF images are being sent in duplicate format DVDs to DLXS in Michigan and to LLM C at its headquarters in Hawaii. After a given DVD passes inspection by LLMC, Michigan will get the green light to go ahead with OCRing the TIFF images and mounting them on the web site.

PAGE 6

(Ed. Note: The Michigan D LX S web hosting is regarded as a “technology incubator”. Within 3 -4 years, LLM C plans to assume the hosting function from Hawaii, with a backup “mirror site” maintained at D LX S in Michigan.)

Going on the Web A beta site will be available for inspection by June 2003 with the launch of the full site scheduled for the end of July. The initial offering should include roughly 100 titles comprising about 1 million page images. LLMC estimates it will take five years to mount its full backfile.

Mounting the images captured by future filming will take additional time but will be on a much faster schedule. Starting later this year, LLM C will begin phasing out its five step-and-repeat microfilm cameras and replacing them with digital book scanners. Once this exchange has been completed, all initial data capture at LLM C will be in digital format. Newly-acquired material will jump the queue

and go onto the web site immediately after capture. This new data will be converted to analogue format by writing the digital data to film after scanning. LLM C expects to use Kodak Archive Writers for this phase of the operation.

Technical considerations Picking the appropriate DPI resolution for the project wasn’t easy says Dupont. “No one knows exactly at how many dots per inch film should be scanned to create ideal TIFF images. Ideal in this case means images that read well on the screen, print well, and earn high confidence ratings when they are OCRed.” He notes private industry scanning gravitates toward two DPI settings, 200 and 300, with 200 usually used for quick verification purposes and 300 for material meant for extended reading. However, commercial products are available at a number of settings such as 400. When LLMC-Digital was being researched, some academics argued that all film should be scanned at rates of at least 600 dpi. This turned out to be an impossibility; none of the three production capacity film scanners on the market today (from Mekel, SunRise Imaging and Wicks and Wilson) is capable of scanning 24X film at 600 dpi.

“Our research showed that scanning is a balancing act,” says Dupont. “Scan too low and you fail to capture important data.

Scan too high and you pick up so much background noise that it dirties up the true target data and degrades OCR performance.”

Over the last year LLM C did its own comparison testing by filming and scanning the same types of material. The filming was done in house and the digital scanning was outsourced. “The focus was on many difficult types of material, such as with heavy bleed-through, foxing, etc. While there are many tradeoffs, the conclusion from these tests was that digital scanning is superior for initial image capture”, said Dupont. “Moreover, while the costs break down differently for digital and analogue capture, in the end they are very similar, particularly when the costs of correction are factored in”.

Finally, LLM C turned over backfile samples to SunRise Imaging and Mekel, tbe two U.S. manufacturers of production film

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About LLMC: US and UK Members LLMC was started in 1976 with a total of $120,000 in startup loans from several foundations and individuals. Jerry Dupont was then a librarian at the University of Hawaii charged with building a library from scratch for the University’s new law school. He reasoned that the problems he faced in starting a library collection from scratch had to be common to others in various law library situations. Like him, they needed microfilms for a variety of reasons - the practicality of building a collection in short time, accessibility, economies, and space saving. And few of them were in a position to create or commission their own film collections.

The goal of LLM C ’s founders was to create a central source for fulfilling members’ needs for legal document and text collection development, protection, and space recovery. As a central source it could capture information once from many sources such as court records and reports, texts, etc.

Initial LLMC members were primarily law schools in the United States. They are still the core but membership is now expanded to include others with similar needs. For example, the Institute of Advanced Legal Education at the University of London (1ALS) is a member and a charter subscriber to LLMC-Digital. Not only that, but Jules Winterton, director of 1ALS’ library, is one of the six elected directors of LLMC. He has been vety much involved in the LLMC-Digital planning process, representing the UK vantage point. LLM C expects perhaps 10 other UK law school libraries to

participate in LLMC-Digital as well as perhaps 7-10 other UK institutions, including law firms.

From the beginning microfiche was the selected microform. It was chosen because the organising law libraries felt it had fewer maintenance problems than roll film, was easier to load into readers and for users to navigate. It was also easier to duplicate for interlibrary loans.

PAGE 7

scanning equipment based in California and nearest to Hawaii, and asked them to run tests at 200 dpi, 300 dpi and 400 dpi.

Scanning at 300 provided good quality and competitive pricing and was selected as the standard.

LLM C has moved from initially filming titles common to most law libraries, to filming in areas where only a few, sometimes only one, library held the hard copy. For example, LLM C now has Canon Law, Civil Law, Military Law and Native American collections among others. A year ago it began the Common Law Abroad (CLA) project, a multi-year effort to film all the legal materials generated in or for the former British colonies.

Currently LLM C is grinding its way through the Caribbean countries, having done the bulk of North America. Dupont says no one collection of such documents exists anywhere in the world. “So, when we’re done” he adds, “many libraries will have what none had before.”

LLMC, though an independent organisation, still retains loose ties to the University of Hawaii. It is housed on one of the University’s campuses in exchange for a free copy of everything LLM C films. Libraries which use the service most have the biggest say on the board of directors; libraries get votes equal to the cumulative number of volumes bought.

Dupont runs the day-to-day operation and reports to the board which meets annually.

For more information on LLMC and LLMC-Digital, e-mail to Llmconsort@Aol.Com

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BOOKING M y first thought when researching this article was that libraries know about storage systems. Storing and retrieving information is at the very heart of their existence. Surely, there’s little 1 can add.

But 1 have since stumbled across a quite remarkable statistic.

According to a recent report by the Audit Commission, only 59 per cent of people who visit a library to find a specific book are able to find the title that they had in mind.

To put it another way, more than four in ten people walk away disappointed. If this was a retail environment, you can be sure the marketing men would be trying to figure out how to satisfy these ‘lost’ customers.

Of course there are likely to be many reasons for this trend. In smaller libraries, range of stock must be an issue while, as library visits have fallen by 17 per cent in the last ten years, there maybe some people who are simply unfamiliar with the way modern libraries work and are afraid to ask for help.

But it has also occurred to me that the complex range of information being stored by modern libraries can make sourcing information less than straightforward - a problem modern storage solutions can help solve.

Government estimates say that public libraries lend out around 420 million books or other items every year.

The term ‘other items’ shows how our libraries have evolved over the years, adopting a multi-purpose role to meet new demands from the information age. Modern customers are just as likely to visit video libraries, CD collections or take advantage of public IT facilities as they are to borrow the latest book from their favourite author.

And with public sector budgets always tight - and little physical room for expansion - accommodating these additional facilities can pose a problem.

different sized items, so four or five shelves of books can be held on one side of the system, with six or seven rows of CDs filling up the space on the other side.

Systems that use double skin uprights ensure these clips remain encased, allowing shelves to be pitched at different levels, maximising storage capacity without requiring more floorspace.

And the benefits to libraries are not simply in terms of space saved.

Reference books can now be stored alongside corresponding CD ROMs, while important works of drama can be shelved together with an accompanying video collection. Consequently, navigation for the library visitor becomes much more straightforward.

These CD and CD ROM collections have become increasingly important in modem libraries, particularly with the improved IT facilities most now enjoy.

While CDs can be stored alongside other items, as detailed above, new storage systems also allow units to be tailored to accommodate special CD indexing systems.

One example is how protective card wallets, hung on a simple storage rail, can save space and improve operational efficiency.

Information can be quickly and easily located as each wallet is clearly labelled with an identification tag.

Of course libraries don’t just concern themselves with frequently accessed items like those described here.

M any host special collections, which can often be of significant value. The highest degree of care is needed to ensure these collections are stored securely and are preserved in the best possible condition.

Railex has completed major projects for both the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture.

The library sector has a lot in common with institutions like these.

It is here that a little creativity can be a help.

For example, one of the most common problems with book storage is that internal fitments for shelving systems often do not finish flush with the upright. This can lead to one of two things; either space is wasted or stocks are damaged by protruding support clips.

The solution is to install made to measure systems that use double skin uprights, allowing books to be stored flat against the uprights without any worries over damage.

Even better, these units also allow space to be maximised by storing books, CDs and videos together in multi-purpose storage systems. Shelving levels vary to accommodate the

Special collections can take up a disproportionate amount of space, limiting the room available for other important facilities.

Mobile storage units can provide a solution to this problem. They offer efficient and high density storage in areas where limited space is available, often saving up to 60 per cent of the space usually used to store the same information.

And these units also have several features that help preservation.

They run on specially laid tracking that allows them to be displayed open during the day and closed at night. Special features, such as protective brushes between cabinets, ensure contents are kept free of dust or other pollutants.

Automating this process has brought benefits. For instance, keyword searches certainly speed up the process of locating information.

But automated systems cannot correct filing systems that were inefficient in the first place. Paper-based records have to be prepared before information is transferred to an electronic system.

Well chosen filing systems have an important role here, speeding up the move to the paperless office.

Consider modular filing systems. They allow pre-segregation of sections of paperwork, meaning information can be transferred to the electronic system one module at a time - a more realistic framework than transferring all information at once.

However, even when the transfer of information is complete, it would not be prudent to dispose of the historical data. The possibility of system failure means hard copies are an important back-up, but their ‘archival’ role means their storage needs change.

Retrieval must remain straightforward but space occupied needs to be minimal.

Mobile solutions again provide an answer. Side mobile systems involve two banks of storage units positioned one directly in front of the other, with the front units moving from side to side to afford easy access to rear units.

PAGE 9

Better protection, using less floorspace.

Storage for ‘back of house’ functions is crucial too. Accurate cataloguing of loan and reference collections is vital to successful administration of a library but modem methods, designed to improve efficiency, have brought with them a new set of problems.

In times past, tbe details of every publication were recorded and indexed manually. Anybody wishing to locate a book simply searched through index cards until they found the item they needed.

Where space is even more limited, double sided rotating units can help. They rotate easily about a vertical axis, allowing a person to access both sides of a unit while standing in one position.

Overall these solutions improve efficiency and ultimately raise customer standards, making a visit to the library a more attractive proposition.

The success of ‘new breed’ bookstores clearly demonstrates this philosophy. A move away from traditional layouts has helped book sales rise considerably in recent years.

Customers are no longer presented with intimidating rows of books, but are instead provided with a spacious environment where they can browse, read and relax.

Libraries could enjoy the same renaissance. Adopting the right storage solutions could well help them get there.

Bill Gilmour is Marketing Manager for Railex Systems Ltd. 01704 226 866.

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Orange County Library System Case Study

O r a n g e C o u n t y , F lo r id a By Marilyn Hoffman, Community Relations Coordinator

The Orange County Library System serves the residents of the Orange County Library District. The Orlando Public Library is the headquarters and Resource Center for the Orange County Library System. The 290,000 square foot downtown Orlando facility is the largest public library building in the state of Florida. The Library has been located at this site since its beginnings as the Albertson Public Library in 1923. The Main Library and 13 Branches serve a diverse - and growing population of 877,000 within the Library District. The Genealogy Department is located on the fourth floor of the Orlando Public Library, with a collection that originated with a gift from avid genealogist Captain Charles Albertson. Today, the collection contains more than 25,000 books and bound periodicals, 10,000 microfiche and over 15,000 reels of microfilm and is one of the largest and most well regarded in the Southeast.

Fulfilling a pledge to remain up-to-date with technology that will enhance patrons’ access to library resources, the Orange County Library System recognised it needed to replace the existing microfilm reader-printers in the Orlando Public Library. The units were old, broke down frequently and required continuous maintenance. Patrons complained that many units were out of order. The units required special toner and thermal paper that were becoming more expensive. The library decided to seek an easy-to-use, upgradeable solution that would incorporate state-of-the art digital imaging technology and allow for modular growth down the road.

Besides being high-quality microfilm reader-printers, both the Canon M S -4 0 0 and M S-8 0 0 Microfilm Scanners also scan images from microfilm and can print, store or transmit these images electronically. The M S-4 0 0 can scan documents up to 8” x 11 ” (A4) at a resolution of up to 400 dpi, while the M S 800 scans documents as large as 11 ” x 17” (A3) at a resolution of up to 600 x 600 dpi for ledger-size reading and printing.

Both of Canon’s Microfilm Scanners connect directly to desktop laser printers (Canon’s Fileprint 250 and Fileprint 400, respectively) to give Library patrons a complete digital micro-printing system that enables the automatic electronic printing of negative or positive film images, and each system’s single convenient laser printer cartridge eliminates the need for separate toners or paper.

Randy Childers from Shell Office Systems sold the Canon M S 400 and 800 Microfilm Scanners, with help from Canon’s Joe Sweeney.

Contact: Shell Office Systems on 407 422 3333

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About three years ago, the Library began replacing 30 aging Fuji FRP 30 AH devices it had installed in the Orlando Public Library Resource Center with 5 Canon NP980 Reader Printers.

As new digital technology debuted, the Library added 13 Canon M S -4 0 0 and M S-8 0 0 Microfilm Scanners. The Library upgraded its equipment to support its bustling Genealogy department and with their larger viewing screens and ability to print large-format documents, the Canon M S -8 0 0 Microfilm Scanners were just right for the job.

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The Background The articles by David Aspinal that have been running in The Green Sheet since September last year climaxed with two seminars of the same title - ’’The Changing Role of Records Management”. The mini series of seminars was a Green Sheet initiative with the full support of the BS1 (British Standards Institution).

The first event was held at the University of Manchester on 12th March and the following week on the 18th it moved to the British Library in London. Both venues proved very popular and the seminars went down well with the delegates and with the handful of trade exhibitors that were present.

The format for both dates was the same and, in the main, so were the speakers. The only change being that Philip Jones had the opening spot in Manchester while in London Dr Julie McLeod began the proceedings.

The delegates (36 at Manchester and 72 in London) seemed to feel that they had received value for money as they not only sat through a day full of interesting and educational presentations, but were also presented with a ‘Delegate Pack’ containing, amonst many interesting items, a transcript of the individual speeches and the BSl’s “Effective Records Management”, PD 0025 parts 1 and 2, retail value £44.00.

Each delegate also received an excellent free lunch and six months subscription to The Green Sheet (well, there had to be a down side didn’t there).

The trade exhibitors that offered financial support to the seminars were, in alphabetical order, Agfa-Gevaert, Anacomp, Graphic Data, Kodak, Micro-Image Business Solutions and The Microfilm Shop; to those companies 1 would like to extend our gratitude. Particularly to Graphic Data who also sponsored the production of the ‘Delegate Packs’. Also present were the BSl,the Institute of Health Record Information ft Management (1HR1M) - Manchester only - and, of course, The Green Sheet.

The Programme

PAGE 12

As mentioned earlier both programmes were the same with the exception of the opening presentation.

In Manchester, after David Aspinall offered a welcome Philip Jones kicked off with “An approach to Records Management - the relevance of ISO 15489 ft PD 0025”.

Philip has been been a records and information management professional for over twenty years. He bas worked extensively in the UK local government sector and is currently Head of Information Resources for Staffordshire County Council. He has served as Chairman of the Records Management Society (GB) and is currently President of the International Records Management Council. He has been Visiting Professor of Records Management at tbe University of Northumbria since 2000. Amongst his other professional

activities he serves as a Director of the government appointed Information Sector National Training Organisation and is a co­ editor of ISO 15489 International Records Management Standard. Philip was voted UK Records Manager of the Year 2000. He has written numerous articles and papers on the subject of records and information management and, more recently, knowledge management. He has lectured extensively in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia on a wide variety of information related topics.

At the British Library Dr Julie Mcleod had the opening spot discussing the same topic as Philip had covered in Manchester.

Julie is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Informatics at Northumbria University specialising in records management. Prior to joining the university in 1994 she had a long career in industry, including the pharmaceutical sector, as an information and records manager. A member of BS1 1DT2/17, the Committee working on I S 0 15489, since its inception and now a member of ISO TC46/SC11 she is author of PD0025:2.

The second speaker at both venues was Alan McQuitty with the subject of “The Record Manager’s Role Today”.

Alan has been employed by Eli Lilly for 30 years, first as an analytical chemist and for the last 20 years in archiving and records management.

Alan has been the Site Archivist responsible for the Records Management Centre operations and strategy and his current role as UK Records Management Coordinator is to advise the UK and European affiliates on records management and archiving strategy and programmes.

Alan has been a member of both the Scientific Archivists Group and the Records Management Society of Great Britain since 1990 and is currently a member of both Executive Committees.

Alan has also served as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Scientific Archivists Group. Alan gained a distinction in the Diploma In Scientific Archive Managem ent from Anglia Polytechnic University in 1995 and was awarded an M Sc in Records Management from the University of Northumbria in 1999. Alan has given presentations to Scientific Archivists Group Conferences on “Setting Up An Archive", “Friend or Foe, The Archivists Perspective” and “Appraisal and Career Progression for Archivists”.

Following a brief refreshment break Rachael MaGuire then took over the lecturn to deliver her presentation “Records Management in the British Library”.

Rachael MaGuire is Electronics Records Manager at the British Library. She is one of a growing band of experts from the antipodes that now grace our shores. She started in ER D M in

Melbourne at Hobsons Bay City Council and gained further experience at Buckinghamshire County Council before joining the British Library in 2001.

1

Rachael will discuss the introduction of an ED R M S system in response to business needs in the Estates Department of the British Library, also intended as a pilot project for ERM in the whole library.

Implementation occurred over a 6month period from the setting up of the system through staff training.

Rachael will explain both the successes and the problems, and provide some good tips for would be E D R M S planners.

Then, to conclude the pre-lunch session Alan Shipman asked the question “Are Your Records Watertight?”.

Alan Shipman is M anaging Director and Principle Consultant for Group 5 Training Limited. He is chair of a number of BS1 committees dealing with Docum ent Im aging, Data Protection and Freedom of Information and a contributor to others relating to Records Management and Legal Admissibility.

He specialises in the implementation of Information Management Systems and, specifically, the application of practical Codes of Practice for achieving real business benefits, particularly where issues such as Legal Admissibility and Data Protection are key.

We then broke for lunch, a very nice carvery at the University and an excellent buffet at the British Library.

Delegates and trade representatives took this opportunity to discuss the information that they had heard throughout the morning.

II

Beginning the afternoon period Nikki Samme gave her “Observations from a Service Provider”.

Throughout Nikki’s 10 years experience of B2C and B2B marketing she has led many customer focus initiatives, concentrating on the definition of customer needs and the building of solutions and response strategies. Currently Head of Group Marketing for Graphic Data, a leading document/records management and data processing organisation, her pivotal responsibility is to identify customer demands and contribute to overall business strategy. Nikki has written various articles and papers surrounding process efficiencies and business process support approaches in the world of information management.

The Seminars

Kelvin Smith kept the momentum going with a dissertation on “The Impact of Legislative Change on Records Management”.

PAGE 13

rds Management

Kelvin is Head of Accessioning Unit and Records Managem ent Consultant in the Records Managem ent Department of the Public Record Office.

Particular specialisations include records appraisal and archiving, records management standards and the promotion of records management in Government. M ost recently he has been drafting the Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the Management of Records under E01 and developing Model Action Plans for compliance with the Code. As well as being a regular presenter of records management issues at conferences, workshops and seminars, he has undertaken frequent assignments in developing countries, mainly in East and Southern Africa, on behalf of the International Records Managem ent Trust, and is Honorary Secretary of the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers. He is also Chair of the Records Management Group of the Society of Archivists.

Both of these very successful seminars were wrapped up by David Aspinall pulling all the previous presentations together under the heading of “Solutions, Services and Training” and opening up the whole discussion and encouraging the delegates to join in by asking questions etc.

David is a consultant in Records Managem ent who has written a number of articles including the series ’’The Changing Role of Records Management" published in The Green Sheet magazine ( www.green-sheet.net).

David has worked for software, hardware and service suppliers in the computer output industry for over thirtyfive years.

Starting as a software developer for computer output to microfilm (COM) systems, he has held senior positions including European Technical Director for DatagraphiX (the world’s largest COM manufacturer) and was founder and M D of Beta Systems Software Limited (computer output system software products). He has subsequently provided consultancy to a number of major companies investigating the optical disc market, setting up a CD-R services organisation and has been involved in the specification and supply of a large number of computer output archive systems as well as associated document management solutions.

David is now an independent consultant to hardware, software and service organisations in information management and an active member of the Records Management Society of Great Britain.

nextScan announces Eclipse the industry's first 300 ppm microfilm scanner Eclipse designed to increase ROI for demanding users with speed, affordability and superior image quality nextSca has announced the Eclipse 300 ppm production level microfilm scanner, a new rollfilm scanner that was designed and built for the most challenging of conversion projects. Now users scanning 16 and 35mm microfilm for applications such as grayscale archival, publishing, manufacturing, insurance and government can deliver jobs faster than ever imagined using the Eclipse scanner.

I Steven Butterfield, President and CEO of nextScan said, “Our primary design goal for the Eclipse scanner was to create a totally new scanner using the latest technology that would give our customers the I ultimate in performance, reliability ! and ease of use. As a result, our design uses technology such as a fiber optic light source, pre scan film cleaning, auto focus with true optical resolution and high speed 20 second rewind. The hardware is complemented with Adaptive Speed Control for optimal throughput, 10 bit Gamma correction and Advanced Auto Thresholding, all using only one main controller board.

Eclipse provides the market with the first truly new scanner in 5 years. nextScan has created the Eclipse to provide the base for a new generation of scanners that will keep our customers moving forward in this very competitive market.”

The Eclipse rollfilm scanner will scan 300 pages per minute and is designed for 24 hour, 7 day per week workloads. The scanner can create grayscale and bitonal images at the same time without a reduction of output speed. To minimise network and other performance bottlenecks, the scanner speed is optimised with nextScan’s exclusive Adaptive Speed Control. The scanner uses camera technology that produces incredible speed, precision and uniform output with less light. To optimise operator time, the user setup is fast and easy using nextScan’s Eusion software and nextAssist Wizard that analyses image data and provides a base setup for the operator.

About nextScan Incorporated in 2002, nextScan is providing the next generation in film scanning technology. nextScan was established to give the microfilm conversion market an alternative to today’s 5 to 8 year old rollfilm scanner designs, as well as provide the support they require for success. Designed with the latest in camera, lighting, chip and software technology, nextScan claims that their scanners far exceed the quality, speed and reliability of other products on the market, increasing production and lowering cost for customers scanning film in many different industries. nextScan is privately owned and headquartered in Danville, California, with field offices in Texas and Idaho.

Contact: Erin Dempsey, nextScan, Inc., (910) 864-2044 erin@nextscan.com

Technical U §) Services

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PAGE 15

Scanning to a new dimension Introducing a new level o f qu ality and service never before associated w ith scanning tech nolo gy is the FineScan range of A3 flatbed scanners The Fujifilm FineScan A3 scanner range which, with its new super linear CCD and advanced XY scanning technology offering users fast production of high resolution images for a multitude of applications, is now available from Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions, the official distributor for the photographic and imaging industry.

outsourcing final scans allows FineScan 2750XL users to offer a more responsive and competitive service.

Whatever make of scanners may previously have been thought to be the leading system available has had to give way to the top of the range FineScan 2750XL. The FineScan 2750XL is the fastest scanner in its class, and its features make it the market leader.

New, advanced technology and high quality optics combined with sophisticated, easy-to-use software enables the 2750XL to produce top quality scans right to the desktop, making it ideal for digital labs, prolabs, photographers, creative studios, ad agencies, designers and anyone seeking the best scanning performance on the market. Originals can now be scanned once in an output-independent digital format and repurposed for any number of output applications.

This professional desktop scanner is capable of achieving an optical resolution all the way up to 2743 dpi - equivalent to a scanned 35mm transparency being enlarged in top quality up to 60x80cm (23.3x33ins) poster size.

The range of profiles included with the scanner cover all common positive and negative original types, which means highly specialised skills are no longer necessary to achieve professional results. The savings in time and cost associated with

The FineScan 2750XL

The FineScan 2750XL scanner is ideal for a wide range of RGB and CM YK applications. These include digital photo restoration and enlargements, large format output for posters, presentation graphics, 3D scanning, archiving, multimedia/interactive CD/video productions and pre-press.

Combining these benefits with the ever-increasing availability of high-speed broadband transmission of images and the reducing costs of the latest data storage devices provides users with a new dimension to the level of services which can be offered to clients.

For those who may not need the blistering performance of the FineScan 2750XL, the widely acclaimed and award winning FineScan 2750, which offers many of the features of its stablemate, is also available, along with the fabulous Lanovia Quattro.

For full details contact Greg Jackson Tel: 02476 455 575, fax: 02476 547 107 or email: gjackson@fujihunt.com.

Alternatively, click onto the Digital link at www.fujihunt.com

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DSS UK Ltd - Evolved from 3M and Imation Heritage D S S UK can trace its roots back to the Document Im aging business of 3M and was formed in June 2002 following the successful Management Buyout of the Digital Solutions and Services Division from Imation.

Imation was formed in 1996 when it was spun off from 3M to form an independent company.

D SS has two main business divisions, Document Management Solutions and the provision of nation-wide third party service.

D SS provides over 30,000 third party service calls per year to a number of large O EM customers including Hewlett Packard, 3M, Research Machines, Ricoh, Konica, Toshiba and Contex

Even through the transitional phase, D SS has maintained its com mitment to quality and has achieved ISO 9002 accreditation, which underpins all the processes within the company.

Location D SS has remained in Bracknell, also home to 3 M and Imation.

The company has its own premises, Duke House, which comprises of 7000 square feet of space split between office and warehouse space. All supplies for the document imaging business are stored and distributed from this site.

Due to its heritage, D S S has inherited an extremely strong customer base of customers in the aerospace, manufacturing, engineering, defence and architectural industries.

All of these companies have made major investments in micrographic based systems for m anaging their engineering documents. D SS continues to work with these customers to maintain and upgrade these systems. With 65 nation-wide field service engineers, D S S is well placed to take care of this customer base.

The M an agin g Director of the new company is Simon Daughters who was previously the European M a n agin g Director of the Imation Digital Solutions ft Services business.

D S S has a wealth of management experience from 3 M and Imation and this adds enormous value in developing and exploiting the opportunities presented by being a smaller and more flexible organisation.

Top: The DSS Document Management Solutions Sales Team - John Webb, Cohn Edwards and Phil Jones Below: The Business Manager of the Document Management Solutions Division, Philip Jones, together the Managing Director of DSS Simon Daughters outside the companies premises in Bracknell.

PAGE 16

duke housi

i

The supplies include toner for 3M printers, aperture cards, camera cards, plotter cards, duplicards and chemicals for 35mm cameras.

The new facility is ideally situated for D SS to provide a prompt and efficient service to its customers in the U K and Europe.

Nationwide field service provider

Products Being an independent U K company has enabled D SS to be more flexible and develop a product range more suited to local customers. The product range now includes Kyocera Mita large format scanners and plotters, Microbox aperture card plotters, Wicks ft Wilson card scanners, OPT1X document management software and bureau services. The D S S bureau scans and plots microfilm cards, scans drawings and produces archival quality 35mm roll film.

M a n y com panies need to p rolong the use o f their micrographics based document management systems; D SS is one of the few companies able to provide used and new aperture card reader printers, plotters and scanners.

The company has recently been very successful with the Microbox CADM1C Aperture Card plotter, selling the plotter to new and existing customers that need to continue producing 35mm microfilm cards from digital data. Plotting o f cards is also a service provided in the D SS bureau for customers shutting down their own microfilm cameras and plotters because they cannot justify the investment in new equipment.

Contact: Phil Jones, DSS UK Ltd., Duke House, Downmill Road, Bracknell, Berks. RG12 IQ S, U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1344 350500 Fax: +44 (0)1344 862693 Email: pjones@dss-uk.co.uk

D ocum ent Im a gin g H ardw are

and supplier of Document Management Solutions Evolved from 3M and Imation..........

• Hardware - Large format scanners and plotters - Aperture card scanners and plotters

• Supplies - Aperture cards, camera cards, plotter cards, duplicards - Chemicals for 3M cameras and microfilm plotters - Toner for 3M reader printers

• Services - Scanning of drawings and cards - Plotting of 35mm aperture cards - Service and maintenance of all 3M micrographics equipment

• Software - Document Management Software

Pre-Owned and New Hardware

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Kendata archiving system cuts costs and saves space for West Lothian Doctors’ Co-operative An archiving system from Southampton-based data-entry specialist Kendata Peripherals has enabled West Lothian Doctors’ Co-operative (Westdoc) to make savings in its document storage costs, as well as freeing up a substantial amount of space in its administration department.

Providing out-of­ hours coverage for 24 West Lothian general practices, W estdoc receives around 41,000 telephone calls per year, each of which is assigned a unique call number by the co­ operative’s Knight Owl system. During each call, the Westdoc receptionist takes the patient’s details and a basic summary of their symptoms.

This information is then printed out on a single-sided A4 call sheet and passed to a Westdoc doctor, who speaks to the caller and decides on the best course of action - whether it be telephone advice, a visit to the Westdoc Primary Care Centre or a home visit. When the patient has been dealt with, the doctor completes the rest of the call sheet, detailing the action that was taken.

In common with other doctors’ co-operatives, the problem for Westdoc was that the completed call sheets had to be stored indefinitely in case they needed to be referred to at a later date for legal reasons Administration assistant Debbie Simpson takes up the story: “After we had faxed the call sheets to the general practices, the originals would be boxed up awaiting collection by a document storage company. Although the storage company provided a good service, this became an increasingly costly business as the years went by and the number of call sheets in storage continued to rise.

“Also, there would always be several large boxes of recent call sheets cluttering up the relatively limited office space that we have here.”

Then, early in 2002, Westdoc made contact with Kendata Peripherals and quickly realised the potential benefits of installing a document archiving system.

“Although there was an initial outlay on the system, it was obvious that it would save us a lot of money in the long run,” continued Debbie, “and you can’t put a price on the convenience and simplicity that the system offers.”

Consisting of a PC, scanner, printer and Kendata’s DCAM (Doctors’ Co-operatives Archiving Module) software, the system is based on the company’s commercial Information Archive Server product, with specially developed input screens to suit the needs of doctors’ co-operatives. The result is an intuitive archiving system providing features normally only found on significantly higher priced products.

“One of the best things about the system is its simplicity,” commented Debbie. “It only takes a few minutes to learn how to use it, so staff don’t need any formal training as such. That is especially important for us because we have a lot of different receptionists working on different shifts, and they all need to be able to use it.”

As batches of Westdoc call sheets are scanned, the system’s OCR (optical character recognition) facility automatically reads the unique call number at the top of the sheet and allocates it to the image, together with the tima and date of scanning -thereby simplifying the retrieval process.

Debbie Simpson again “If we need to retrieve a call sheet, we simply key in the call number and up comes a perfect image of the original form, including any handwritten notes and drawings that the doctor made at the time.”

Since having the Kendata system installed, Westdoc no longer puts the original call sheets into storage, but instead sends them directly to the general practices.

“Nowadays we only need to store electronic images of the call sheets, so we can forward the original documents to the patients’ GPs,” said Debbie. “The D C AM system has freed up a significant amount of space for us, as well as reducing our long-term document storage costs.”

For further information, visit www.kendata.com or contact sales@kenda,ta.com

ROUND (V A B O U T NPFA puts public information on-line The National Playing Fields Association are making their title deeds, leases, and plans available to the public via the Internet.

The documents will also to be made available on 35mm microfilm at the association’s offices in Coventry. Although some of the documents are old, (some dating back to the early 1800s), valuable and, therefore, fragile, they will still be made available to those wishing to examine the originals.

Martin Bateman of East M idlands M icro-Im aging, Northampton, who have been awarded the contract to undertake the microfilming and scanning operations said “The combination of microfilm and scanned images ensures information contained in these documents is preserved for generations to come, whilst at the same time being available world wide via the internet. Although this is good business it is also very satisfying to be associated with an organisation like the NPFA which protects the nation’s recreational land”.

The overall cost of this project is in the region of £50,000. It is a National Playing Fields Association Project supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. Fisa Davies, Director of the NPFA, said “W e’re delighted with the grant. It recognises the N P F A ’s leading role in the playing field movement throughout the 20th century up to today.” The NPFA is being advised by Coventry City Archive Office and their

R eal

archivist, Jane Pudsey, is very excited about the project. She said “Some of the documents are historically very significant. It is important that anyone can examine the content and with this project this can be done with no damage to the originals.”

The NPFA documents will be available on the NPFA web site www.playing-fields.com by the autumn.

Contact: Martin Bateman, East Midlands Micro-Imaging, 46 Tenter Road, Moulton Park, Northampton Tel: (0)1604 644665 Fax: (0)1604 643673 Email: martin@em-micro-imaging.co.uk

Kodak Document Imaging merges Commercial Imaging Components Group

into

Kodak

Eastman Kodak Company’s Document Imaging Group has been merged into the new Commercial Imaging Components Group within Kodak’s wider Commercial Imaging Group (C1G). C1G now combines some of the company’s most innovative businesses including Commercial and Government Systems, Kodak Service and Support and Kodak joint ventures, NexPress and Kodak Polycbrome Graphics.

“The businesses within this group are market leaders, which is great for all concerned. We already undertake a huge amount of research and development, but this merger will mean we can focus that a lot more on the needs of our commercial customers,” said Robert Young, D K Manager, Capture ft lmagelink, Commercial Imaging Components Group.

Contac: Robert Young, Kodak Document Imaging Tel: 01442 844 986 Email: robert.m.young@kodak.com

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U.S. Roundup s*. ~ HF ends Distribution Agreement with Fuji Photo Film USA and refocuses on Core Businesses Effective March 7, HF has ended its distribution agreements with Fuji Photo Film as the distributor of Fuji brand micrographic products in North America.

“HF has refocused on its core competencies as a manufacturer of equipment for the document im aging industry, military/government contracts, and wastewater treatment applications," states James Lee, HF President and Chief Operating Officer. “This decision was made in the best interests of the customers, Fuji and HF.” HF is concentrating its efforts to produce and distribute innovative and world-class quality products to our customers with renewed commitment and direction. New microfilm scanner developments and wastewater treatment projects are giving a refreshing boost to HF. HF is best known as a im aging equipment. It Houston Fearless line of duplicators and the Mekel

leading manufacturer of film-based manufacturers and distributes the film processors, the Extek brand of brand of microfilm scanners.

HE also produces a line of water pollution equipment used in the remediation and recycling of photographic and other wastewater effluents.

For further information on HF, Inc. visit www.myhfi.com

Complete Scanning System for Fiche $2,495

IT’S ALL HAPPENING AT ANACOMP...

New service announced Anacomp last month introduced the Anacomp Document Preservation Programme, a turnkey approach for companies that need to preserve and archive critical information on unalterable microfiche or 16mm film. Under the programme Anacomp will place its film imaging equipment and software at a customer’s facility, bundle maintenance and supplies, and simply charge companies based on month usage. The approach is likened to a wireless phone plan under which customers can select a level of usage and receive a single monthly bill that covers everything. Pricing is based on the number of documents, or “clicks” that a customer preserves on a monthly basis.

Fred Gorton, SVP-Anacom p Imaging/Print Systems and Supplies group, said the equipment offered in the Document Preservation Programs includes the XFP2000 - 200 and 1D1P 1600 systems. These allow scanned source documents or those produced from electronic print streams to be automatically captured, reduced, and stored on microfiche or 16mm film.

“We even include onsite training and can assist with job set­ ups” said Gorton.

Hitachi deal secured The company also said it reached an agreement with Hitachi Ltd. to become European distributor for Hitachi’s TYPHOON continuous form printer systems. The agreement was announced last month at the CeBIT Hanover Fair in Germany.

Anacomp selected by Bowe Bell & Howell to provide service on scanners Anacomp has also announced that it has been cbosen by document scanner manufacturer Bowe Bell ft Howell Scanners, to provide nationwide service coverage for end-user imaging installations.

The selection is part of a comprehensive programme to increase service quality standards for Bowe Bell ft Howell scanner owners. As one of five nationwide Bowe Bell ft Howell Authorised Service Providers, Anacomp has met the rigorous requirements necessary to maintain uptime at scanner installations. Anacomp will offer post-warranty service on Bowe Bell ft Howell’s Copiscan 8000 Spectrum Series, Copiscan 8000 Plus Series, Copiscan 11 Series and FB Series scanners.

Microfilm Scanner Shown With 16/35mm Roll Film Carrier

The $2,495 sales price includes the Microfilm ScanPro scanner, fiche carrier, one non-rotation lens, document management software, and the cable to connect to your own PC. Optional combination carriers are available for fiche, aperture cards, 16mm and 35mm roll film.

e

im age data

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A variety of paper-intensive industries use Bowe Bell ft Howell scanners to capture and process documents. Im aging applications are often essential to the end users’ business and customer service operations and therefore require prompt, proficient service arrangements.

“After extensive research and evaluation, we chose Anacomp because of its strong national presence, technology expertise and outstanding customer service,” said Russell Hunt, Bowe Bell ft Howell Scanners vice president of sales and marketing.

“This relationship with Anacomp will help ensure that end-user imaging operations stay up and running around the clock.”

For further information on Anacomp visit www.anacomp.com

...AND AT KODAK

dockable flatbed accessory that easily snaps into the scanner for documents that need special handling.

i260 Scanners to Support Taiwan’s Military Taiwan’s Military has purchased 75 Kodak i260 Scanners, which will be used to digitise millions of military registration cards with colour photos, during the next three years.

The scanners will be installed in 24 locations throughout the country, making this initiative one of the largest image management activities undertaken by a government agency in Taiwan.

The Taiwan government, through this application, has begun to execute its e-Govemment Plan, which is intended to provide more operational efficiency and additional convenience for citizens.

“Taiwan’s Military needed a colour document imaging solution that scans documentation quickly with high image quality while accommodating different size documents,” said Joy Wang, Sales Manager, Channels, for Kodak’s Commercial Imaging in Taiwan.

“The i260 Scanner offers these benefits and more, putting it at the top of its class in price-to-performance, paper handling, superior image processing, and image quality.

The i260 Scanners, one of two models in the i200 Series, are designed to handle more than 5,000 pages per day, delivering colour and grayscale images at the same fast speed as a bitonalonly scanner-up to 50 pages per minute (ppm) or 100 images per minute (ipm) at 200 dpi. The i260 Scanner can be converted from a sheet-feed only unit, to a sheet-feed flatbed via the A3 size

AGFA ^

Leveraging its strong sales channel in the Greater Asia Region, Kodak collaborated with Fortune Information Systems Corp., a value-added distributor (VAD), and Mitac, a value-added reseller (VAR), in the sale to Military. In addition to the Kodak i260 Scanners, the sale included the first sales of the new Plasmon Enterprise D875 Series Jukebox. The Plasmon Enterprise D-series, introduced last year, includes the largest capacity DVD jukeboxes available today.

Mitac created the solution for Military, based on components, scanner driver and jukebox management software to implement the imaging solution, which will be a model for other document imaging solutions in Taiwan.

Kodak named U.S. Imaging System Service Provider for Pitney Bowes Eastman Kodak’s worldwide service organisation, Kodak Service ft Support, signed an agreement with Pitney Bowes to provide installation and ongoing system support for new Pitney Bowes customers within the United States as well as post-installation customer support. Pitney Bowes provides imaging systems that digitise mail and then electronically send it to customers. The imaging systems consist of servers, scanners, and storage devices from several different manufacturers. Kodak will provide ongoing maintenance support of all the hardware and software involved as well as provide one telephone call Help Desk support to Pitney Bowes customers.

Quality

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For all AGFA Microfilm Products in the United States contact John Glover Microfilm Distribution Services, a division of SOURCECORP 8 0 0 -9 6 9 -2 5 5 6 , ext 3 6 7

A L O S offers an extensive line o f rollfilm and universal carriers ALOS carriers are designed for use with Minolta and Canon micrographic reader-printers and scanners. Competitive pricing makes these carriers a natural choice for your micrographic retrieval needs.

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Necessity, pride and enjoyment Reasons UK directors are staying in the job From the Plimsoll Directors’ Edition By the end of 2003, almost a fifth of directors in the UK Microfilm Services ft Equipment industry will be over 60 years old, according to a just published Plimsoll analysis on company directors.

The new Plimsoll Directors Edition, analysing 370 directors in the Microfilm Services ft Equipment industry takes an in-depth look at the personalities behind the companies and looks at the motivations for directors staying, leaving or joining the industry.

The study has found that 137 “baby boomers” of the 1940’s or before, born in post war England, have been the backbone of the industry for more than 30 years. Perhaps it is not surprising that directors of companies should stay on after 60 given that wisdom and experience are valuable in dealing with company affairs. The question is - who will succeed them?

Yet what is driving these elder statesmen to continue in the industry? David Pattison analyst at Plimsoll, “Directors are staying at their company out of necessity, pride and even enjoyment. Yet there is no doubt that many of these ’baby boomers’ are at crossroads in their lives. It has certainly been a factor driving current acquisition activity.”

Identified in the Director's analysis are:

W hat can the industry offer the next generation o f leaders?

• Average salary last year was £69K • Average salaries increased by 113% • Top earners can see salaries of around £125K • This compares with the UK top earners average of £1 50K • Average time at the same company is now over 7 years • This compares with the UK average of just over 7 years The industry, it seems, can afford competitive salaries. Yet this may not be enough to encourage sibling retention and tempt new blood into an industry that becomes more competitive every year.

With over a quarter of companies in the industry loss making, and with a market growth of 2% , the industry attracted 90 new directors over the past 2 years. The just published Directors’ Edition from Plimsoll shows what initial challenges these new directors will face: • • • •

10 directors must radically cut costs 10 directors must kick-start their companies commercially 21 directors must boost profitability 2 directors must eliminate the competition through acquisition

The millionaires club The analysis names 14 companies run by 1940’s directors that if these companies were sold all of these companies would net over £1 million. “It’s a tempting prospect for someone thinking of his or her retirement fund. This is quite a door opener for a potential acquirer,” says Pattison.

The full analysis of the top 175 UK companies in the Microfilm Services Et Equipment industry including the 370 directors behind them is available from Plimsoll Publishing for £365.00.

You can call Plimsoll for more information or to order this analysis on 01642 626400 or visit their website www.plimsoll.co.uk.

Struggling on The analysis also names 11 companies driven by 1940’s directors that are going through a period of distress. All of these companies are loss making and all are taking on extra debts. Is it understandable for these directors to bow out or are they up for one more challenge in their illustrious careers?

Readers of this publication will receive a 5 % discount when mentioning this article upon ordering.

PAGE 22

Quality, Speed, Reliability.

Beyond retirement The analysis also names 21 directors who are working beyond the age of 65. Perhaps they agree with the recent study by the Department for W ork and Pensions that suggested if you continue working after retirement then you are healthier, wealthier and happier. Certainly some of these directors must be pleased that their companies made healthy profits last year. Age, it seems, is no barrier to success.

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