Mallon Technology

Case Study

Belfast Charitable Society

The Client

The Belfast Charitable Society was founded in 1752 to build a Poor House and Infirmary for the most vulnerable citizens of Belfast.  Today the Belfast Charitable Society remains an important influence in Belfast, playing a guiding role in the shaping of the city.

The Problem

Over the course of its history, the Belfast Charitable Society has generated a large collection of historical records.  The society took the decision to digitally capture some of its historical collections.

What We Did

Mallon provided our Document Capture services to two separate collections held by the Belfast Charitable Society.  Details of the two collections can be found below:

Project 1 – Belfast Charitable Society Committee Boo No. 1

This project involved the digital capture of the Belfast Charitable Society Committee Book No. 1, dating back to 1752.

The book was captured and presented in a single page format at 400dpi preservation master TIFF.  From these images, derivative PDF–A images were also created.  The PDF–A images provide the society with a more secure file that conforms to archiving standards.  Property metadata regarding the capture process was applied to all images, including; title, subject, copyright and camera details.

Upon completion of the project, Mallon had captured 92 individual pages.  The final images were then uploaded to our secure FTP site for the customer to access and download.

Project 2 – The Life and Times of Mary Ann McCracken

This project involved the digital capture of the Life and Times of Mary Ann McCracken.  Mary Ann McCracken formed the Ladies Committee of the Belfast Charitable Society and is a prominent figure in the history of the Society.

The volume was captured and presented in a single page format at 400dpi preservation master TIFF.  From these images, derivative PDF–A images were also created.  All PDF–A images were watermarked at the customer’s request.

On completion of the project, Mallon had captured 343 individual pages.  The final images were then uploaded to our secure FTP site for the customer to access and download.

The Benefits

  • The Belfast Charitable Society has been able to preserve their important historical collections from any further damage caused by excessive handling
  • New research can be conducted into important historical resources
  • A secure digital backup will ensure the collections remain accessible even in worst–case scenarios