Digitising Yearbooks

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Rebecca Maloney

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Jan 28, 2022, 2:42:16 PM1/28/22
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Hi everyone,
I have located a source that digitising yearbooks for FREE.  They are currently working on years 1950-1988 for free.  They will do other years for a fee.  I have included their information and contact information.  
I emailed the address at the bottom and am in correspondence with him to get the yearbooks I have in my possession digitised.


OCI YEARBOOK PROJECT 

ARCHIVING YOUR HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES FOR FREE! 

"Let us, before we die, gather up our heritage, and offer it to our children." 

Will Durant, The Story of Civilization 


My name is Darrell, a state representative for the OCI Yearbook Project. Here is some  information on a program we began in Oklahoma several years ago that has been a huge  benefit for libraries and high schools across our state. We are now offering this FREE service to libraries, high schools and historical societies all across the country. I am hopeful that we  might be of service to your community. We have had great reviews from the various  organizations that have already participated in this program.  

Preservation of our local history is such an important issue these days. As stewards of  that history, we must do all we can to protect that history. This e-mail is to let you know that  funding is now available to get your High School yearbooks digitally memorialized on DVD’s.  For librarians and historians, this move makes perfect sense since most libraries often own  only a single copy of each year. Once they are gone or damaged, it is often difficult, if not  impossible to replace them and high school yearbooks are priceless because of their historical  value. Now you won’t have to worry about wear and tear, nor the threat of vandalism should a  visitor decide to lift a favorite photo or page. These concerns vanish with electronic copies.  This is a FREE program that will be very beneficial to your community. With the financially  tough times that libraries and high schools have been going through over the past several  years, it is financially prudent for public institutions that are so often under-funded, even in  good times, to participate in any free program that provides a service that is beneficial to  them. 

We encourage you to contact the local references on the list attached to check on our  services and to confirm that this is a truly wonderful program that you’ll benefit from at no  cost at all. We even take care of the shipping charges. We have had several thousand high  schools, libraries and historical societies from across the country participate in our High School  Yearbook Digitization program and we hope this program will be of interest to you and your  staff as well. We have already completed digitizing the majority of high school yearbooks 

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in Oklahoma and are now branching into other states that are interested in preserving their  local history by having their high school yearbooks digitized in this unique free program. 

Who we are: OCI, which stands for Oklahoma Correctional Industries, is a state agency located  in Lexington, Oklahoma. Our Records Conversion Department has been in operation for over  thirty years and consists of three areas, Data Entry, Digital Imaging, and Image Review and  Verification. We digitally convert records for every state agency in Oklahoma. These include:  Department of Education, Department of Human Services, Department of Labor, Oklahoma  Turnpike Authority, just to name a few. OCI is a rehabilitation and jobs training program that  is affiliated with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. We provide employment  opportunities for offenders in a variety of job skills in the computer operations field as well as  in many other occupations. The primary goal of OCI is to help the offender to learn the work  ethics needed to function in a productive career by providing job training and meaningful  employment during their period of incarceration. Providing the offender with useful job skills,  in the hope that those skills will be utilized during their employment after their term of  incarceration is completed, is just good corrections policy and helps to dramatically reduce  recidivism. This project also allows the offenders the opportunity to do something useful  and give back to society. 

How is this free?: The OCI High School Yearbook Project came about after it was brought to  the attention of our state agency that high school yearbooks were being damaged by tornados  and others were being destroyed by people cutting pictures or even whole pages out of them.  Since we already convert all of the records into a digital format for our state agencies, we  quickly realized what a help to communities this service would be. Almost four years later and  over 2800 High Schools and Libraries later, here we are! We are now extending this free  service to other states. This project is currently only for high school yearbooks and not for  middle schools or colleges. It is okay if your middle school and high school are in the same  yearbook. 

How we do it: Your yearbooks will be scanned and returned to your library within 8-10 weeks  along with a full set of DVDs containing digital copies of each yearbook. Whether you have  only a few yearbooks or hundreds, we would be happy to be of service to you. Our Quality  Control Department goes through each page of the digital images looking for any graffiti,  stains, marks, or other signs of wear and tear and digitally erases any blemishes so you will  receive the digital images in pristine condition.  

Due to the large number of high school yearbooks we are currently digitizing, the programs  criteria have changed and we are now digitizing yearbooks in stages. We are currently  accepting years 1950-1988, and after we have finished those years, we will focus on another  period. We take every precaution to ensure that no damage comes to your yearbooks while in  our care. It is a totally harmless procedure with nothing touching the year books except a very 

lightweight piece of glass that keeps the image stationary. Our overhead non-destructive  scanning method ensures that your yearbooks are not damaged and that they are returned to  you in their original condition. The yearbooks are scanned at 300 dpi and saved in a PDF  format, meaning they are done with publisher quality. We also now include OCR (text  recognition) for free as well (normally $.05 per page). When the process is complete, your  yearbooks will be preserved in a digital format that is ready for future generations to enjoy! 

What do you need to do to get started: The only thing needed to be done from your side is for  you and/or your staff to box them up, tape them securely, and make two inventory sheets,  one for yourself and one to be put in the box with your books. Also, I would ask you to e-mail  me a copy of the inventory so I will know what to expect. You’ll then need to call or e-mail me  and let me know how many boxes you have and what day you would like Fed-Ex to pick them  up. I will schedule Fed-Ex to pick up your books on the date and window of time you desire. I  will e-mail you the shipping labels for each box. At that same time, I will e-mail our  Acceptance Agreement. The Acceptance Agreement allows OCI to provide this service to you.  

Getting your yearbooks digitized with OCI is a safe and easy way to digitally preserve your  valuable high school yearbooks. If you are interested in having your yearbooks converted into  a digital format at no cost, please contact me at (405) 527-0833 Monday-Friday 8:00AM 4:00PM CST or e-mail me at oc...@doc.ok.gov  

  

Also, feel free to forward this information to any other library, historical society or high  school in your area that may benefit from this program as well.  

Thank you for your time and consideration,  

Darrell Killingsworth 

Darrell Killingsworth, 

OCI Records Conversion 

Direct Line: (405) 527-0830  

Fax #: (405) 527-7040  

Email: oc...@doc.ok.gov  

Website: www.ocisales.com

Thanks and Good Luck!!
Rebecca Maloney

Joy Fisher

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Jan 28, 2022, 3:25:29 PM1/28/22
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I have used them for years. They do good work (using convict labor). These prisoners learn a valuable skill and hopefully can become useful citizens when they have served their time. You get 2 CDs which are OCR'd, so it is completely searchable. If you want your original book back, be sure to mark your box :Do Not Destroy" in red ink.

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Joy Fisher

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Jan 28, 2022, 3:41:36 PM1/28/22
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Forgot to mention they will also remove the handwriting (autographs, snarky comments, etc):  (if you want) from the digital version.

Timothy West

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Jan 28, 2022, 4:19:09 PM1/28/22
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I would be careful with this.  Ancestry is being sued over this very issue of digitized yearbooks because none of the people in the yearbook authorized the use of their likeness.

...tim west...


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Michael Alden (Dino) Peterson

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Jan 28, 2022, 5:10:16 PM1/28/22
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I agree with Tim. I read that not too long ago.
Mike

nancyjanyszeski

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Jan 28, 2022, 6:47:24 PM1/28/22
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I also agree especially regarding those who are still with us.



Nancy ☃️

Nancy  Janyszeski 
PAGenweb

Joy Fisher

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Jan 29, 2022, 3:26:04 PM1/29/22
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Ancestry was buying up recent yearbooks and putting then into their DB. I only deal with yearbooks from the 1920's and 30's and only put the info on line when I can verify that the people are dead.

Nancy_Janyszeski

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Jan 29, 2022, 3:37:35 PM1/29/22
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This is a good discussion to bring awareness that it is not the best idea to simply publish yearbooks on websites, without an awareness.



Timothy West

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Jan 29, 2022, 4:23:47 PM1/29/22
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Use of likeness is not negated at death.  Somewhat like copyright but not quite the same.

...tim west...


Pat Asher

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Jan 29, 2022, 4:47:17 PM1/29/22
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This is an important point. In the 50's and 60's in my area in the midwest, schools contracted with commercial studios for yearbook photos. Students were required to go to that studio for their yearbook photos. The yearbook had one-time publication rights, but the studio reserved the copyright.

Pat Asher


On 1/29/2022 4:23 PM, Timothy West wrote:
Use of likeness is not negated at death.  Somewhat like copyright but not quite the same.

...tim west...


On Sat, Jan 29, 2022 at 2:26 PM 'Joy Fisher' via State Coordinators <state...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Ancestry was buying up recent yearbooks and putting then into their DB. I only deal with yearbooks from the 1920's and 30's and only put the info on line when I can verify that the people are dead.

On Friday, January 28, 2022, 01:19:10 PM PST, Timothy West <timothy...@gmail.com> wrote:


I would be careful with this.  Ancestry is being sued over this very issue of digitized yearbooks because none of the people in the yearbook authorized the use of their likeness.

...tim west..


Jt Harper

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Jan 29, 2022, 4:50:52 PM1/29/22
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Pat

That was the same in Sacramento CA in the mid 1960’s to 1990's…. The photo studio retained all copyrights!

Jeannette Harper

Conni McDaniel Hall

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Jan 29, 2022, 5:57:54 PM1/29/22
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I found the following at the Legal Genealogist. It might help in deciding to digitize or not.

Publication Date
Conditions

Copyright Term
Before 1923 None In the public domain
1923 – 1977 No copyright notice. In the public domain
1923 – 1963 There was a copyright notice but it was not renewed as required after 28 years. (Only a few publishers or authors ever renewed.) In the public domain
1923 – 1963 There was a copyright notice and the copyright was renewed. 95 years after publication date
1964 – 1977 There was a copyright notice. 95 years after publication date


Conni McDaniel Hall
IAGenWeb IPSC


tngenewhiz

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Jan 30, 2022, 3:34:47 AM1/30/22
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Timothy West

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Jan 30, 2022, 8:32:42 AM1/30/22
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The article you mention also says the plaintiffs are going to appeal the dismissal  so the case is still undecided.

...tim west...
Scott County Coordinator for the TNGenWeb Project
http://www.tngenweb.org/scott

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