OCR for Libraries & Archives
Digitize historical documents, manuscripts, and library collections. Free.
Key Capabilities
Can it handle historical documents with old typefaces?
The OCR engine handles a wide range of historical typography including Victorian-era typefaces, early 20th-century printing, typewriter text, and some Fraktur/blackletter scripts. Very old manuscripts with significant fading or damage may benefit from preprocessing with our Magic Enhance tool.
Who uses this tool professionally?
University librarians digitize special collections and rare books for open-access digital repositories. Museum archivists convert historical correspondence and documents into searchable databases. Genealogical societies digitize census records, church records, and civil documents for public research access.
Can it process large batches of archival materials?
Yes. Photograph individual pages and process them sequentially. For large-scale digitization projects, our paid tier allows batch processing of 10+ pages at once. The extracted text can be exported and imported directly into archival management systems like ArchivesSpace or PastPerfect.
Are archival materials kept private?
Yes. All processing happens locally in your browser. Rare manuscript images, unpublished historical materials, and culturally sensitive documents are never uploaded to any server.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can it handle historical documents with old typefaces?
The OCR engine handles a wide range of historical typography including Victorian-era typefaces, early 20th-century printing, typewriter text, and some Fraktur/blackletter scripts. Very old manuscripts with significant fading or damage may benefit from preprocessing with our Magic Enhance tool.
Who uses this tool professionally?
University librarians digitize special collections and rare books for open-access digital repositories. Museum archivists convert historical correspondence and documents into searchable databases. Genealogical societies digitize census records, church records, and civil documents for public research access.
Can it process large batches of archival materials?
Yes. Photograph individual pages and process them sequentially. For large-scale digitization projects, our paid tier allows batch processing of 10+ pages at once. The extracted text can be exported and imported directly into archival management systems like ArchivesSpace or PastPerfect.
Are archival materials kept private?
Yes. All processing happens locally in your browser. Rare manuscript images, unpublished historical materials, and culturally sensitive documents are never uploaded to any server.
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