Digitization for the Image Bank of the Flemish Government – Heritage Agency

Challenges

• 1. Ensuring the Preservation of Fragile Materials

  Challenge

  The archive consisted of delicate photographs that required careful handling during transportation and digitization.

  Solution

  Youston ensured safe retrieval and re-packaging of all materials, preserving their physical condition while preparing them for processing.

• 2. Processing at Scale

  Challenge

  The project involved digitizing more than 220,000 photographs systematically and efficiently.

  Solution

  Youston’s high-capacity digitization workflow processed the photos with consistent quality and speed, meeting the project’s ambitious scale.

• 3. Metadata Accuracy and Standardization

  Challenge

  Each photo required accurate and standardized metadata to ensure easy searchability and accessibility.

  Solution

  Youston captured descriptive metadata for each photo, incorporating quality checks to ensure accurate city, municipality, and street name information, as well as relevant keywords.

• 4. Automation of Cropping

  Challenge

  Cropping a large volume of photos manually would have been time-intensive and error-prone.

  Solution

  Youston implemented an automated cropping process,

  eliminating the need for manual intervention and significantly reducing processing time.

• 5. Immediate Access to Images

  Challenge

  Given the living nature of the archive, the client needed fast access to specific images during and after digitization.

  Solution

  Youston developed an online platform that allowed the client to perform quick searches and retrieve images efficiently, even for an ongoing collection.