Digital Microfilm Library

This project is a series of prototypes to demonstrate the capabilities of a digital microfilm library that can simplify the index extraction process and provide access to the microfilm library from home.

The goal is to create a set of image features which can be used to index microfilm images of handwritten records.

We desire to create a image format for microfilm images which can download at various resolutions and/or partial fragments. By downloading fragments or low resolution summaries we can deliver digitized microfilm images over ordinary phone lines at interactive rates.

A great deal of new genealogical information is being published on the WWW using HTML. There is wide variability in the formats used for displaying such information. We seek automatic means to extract and utilize such information.

We seek to provide better automatic advice for new people trying to do family history research. In particular we wish to use all of the information that they already have to generate and filter searches on various online archives. We also seek to develop an open architecture into which experts in various areas can contribute automated advice and thus enhance the overall system.