this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
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This may be the wrong place to ask, but- Does anyone know of a reputable service that would turn a decades-old print book into an eBook? (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 months ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/books@lemmy.world
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In the 1980s, my father wrote a book that an analysis and annotation of another well-known book which is now in the public domain. My family owns the rights to this annotation (we checked with the press that put it out). I think it would make a really good eBook if someone wanted to scan it all in, digitize it, and turn all the annotations into hyperlinks. I know that theoretically I could do that all myself, but I feel like that's something bigger than I can tackle alone. He was a scholar, so he did a huge amount of research on the book which is basically unavailable now to anyone who is interested in it.

So could anyone recommend a good service to do this? I don't know that I could necessarily raise the funds to do it, but I think it would be worth a try with a kickstarter or something.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago (7 children)

Significantly longer than the original novel, so scanning alone would take a very long time and I don't even have a scanner.

[–] InfiniteFlow@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago (3 children)

There are companies specializing in document management. One of the services they offer (besides archiving, secure destruction, etc.) is scanning books and creating high-quality pdfs of their contents. This is usually a (semi-)automated process that uses a machine that opens the book only as much as necessary, to try not to even damage its spine. I’ve used it professionally and can vouch for this kind of service, even if I cannot really recommend you a particular provider, since I very much doubt you live near me, in Europe. Still, I’m pretty sure you can find one close to you if you search.

This will only take you halfway there, by producing a good quality pdf version of the book that you could share with others. To go the extra step of OCR’ing it, proofreading, adding the links, would need something else…

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Thanks. Can you recommend a reputable one?

[–] InfiniteFlow@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I’ve used these guys. Fast, courteous and acceptable price. Still, unless you live in Portugal, I don’t think it will help you much. Might give you an idea of what to look for, though!

GASDA

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Ah, yeah, not in Portugal. But I appreciate you giving me a direction to look in, thank you!

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