Digital Imaging of Papyri: A Report to the Commission on Preservation and Access

The study of papyri has been significantly limited, and because of their fragile and fragmentary condition, papyri pose significant preservation and research challenges. This report explores the use of digitization to overcome these difficulties. The Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS) established a committee charged with studying imaging and other current technological developments and establishing standards for the field. An APIS contract with the Commission on Preservation and Access supported this study of the imaging component of the planned system that would answer the following questions: (1) Is electronic imaging now capable of serving as the main means of capturing the images of papyri and similar objects for research access and for preservation?; (2) What objectives must be met in such imaging?; (3) What technical standards should be established to accomplish those objectives and preserve the interchangeability and permanence of data?; (4) What are the limits of present technology, the controls and safeguards needed to ensure data quality and integrity, and the means of preventing obsolescence of the product? and (5) How well can currently available equipment satisfy the standards and objectives? This report relates the purpose and methods of the APIS study, defines archival and delivered images, discusses ways and means for capturing physical attributes of papyri and the preferred methods of capture, details technical standards and specifications, and ends with a brief discussion of quality control, migration, and refreshment issues. A list of participants in the Conference on Digital Imaging of Papyri (University of Michigan, March 3-5, 1994) is provided.