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University of California Chooses Aptara to Convert Sixty Years of Print Archives Into Searchable, Online Content

Wednesday 08. July 2009 - Food Systems and Environmental Research to Benefit From Digital Content Repository

Aptara, a pioneer in digital publishing solutions, was chosen by the University of California to convert print editions of “California Agriculture” journal, including close to 6,000 articles dating back to 1946, into a fully searchable Web site, accessible online to diverse users.
“California Agriculture” publishes peer-reviewed research in agricultural, natural and human resources. It is one of the oldest, continuously published, land-grant university research publications in the country, with one of the largest circulations among journals of its kind.
“Thanks to Aptara, this highly valuable research, previously accessible only at scattered University libraries, is now widely available online for the benefit of authors, readers, and scientists worldwide,” said Janet White, Executive Editor of “California Agriculture” journal. “Aptara transformed old, well-worn hard copies into high-quality, reusable XML-based content and full-text PDFs, with the highest levels of data integrity and readability,” she added. “These digital assets represent a tremendous contribution to the field, for a broad range of research relating to agricultural systems, environmental sciences, and nutrition and food safety.”
Aptara has processed over 550 back-dated journal issues, per the University’s custom editorial specifications, converting them into XML files with cross-referencing for immediate posting online. The technical nature of the content required subject matter experts (SMEs) to ensure the proper processing and tagging of the mass volumes. The project also entailed design and implementation of a custom workflow for digitization and specialized XML processing.
“The quality of the hardcopies — with sixty-year-old images and grey scales — posed a significant challenge,” said Dev Ganesan, President and CEO of Aptara. “Our sophisticated scanning processes greatly enhanced the final output quality, in some cases making it clearer than the original source files,” he added. “Aptara is proud to support the University of California in bringing a full historical compendium of the state’s agricultural documentation online.”