----- Original Message ----- From: "Rod Neep" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 4:40 PM Subject: [CDBOOKS] The aims of the Archive CD Books Project > How the Archive CD Books Project Works > > People often ask me "How do you manage to produce CDs to sell at that > price?" > > The answer is simple: It is because of the way that the project works. > > Essentially, the old books for the project are lent to us, and those > doing the lending gain something. I buy books too, and they are usually > given away (to organisations who lend us books) when the project has > finished with them. > > I believe in value for money, so the CD books are sold at a very > reasonable price. Folks like that. Funds from the proceeds of CD sales > buy more books for the project, or pay for books loaned by County Record > Offices, museums, local studies libraries, museums, etc. to be > renovated. > > That's the basics.... now for the detail. > > See - it is simplicity itself - it is self-funding. > And the more books that the project produces on CD, the more it grows. > > The flow chart on our "about us" web page was created when the Archive > CD Books Project began in March 2000. The principles have remained > precisely the same. All that has happened since then is that there has > been lots more activity. The Archive CD Books Project grew and grew > thanks to our supporters. In the beginning I used to do it all myself, > but a point was reached where that wasn't possible. In order to cope > with the large increase in activity, staff have been employed, currently > seven full time and three part time, (all but one were jobless from the > local employment office). We have also purchased four of the superb > Bookeye scanners (£12,500 each) together with the computers to run them, > and a couple of high-throughput CD makers. There are also of course, > considerably higher monthly running costs. > > Despite all of this additional expense, the prices of the CDs have > remained the same. > > The fact that we now have a large throughput, and have the > responsibility for paying staff could make it appear to some that The > Archive CD Books Project is a big commercial business. Sure, in order > for it to be efficient, it does have to be run on business lines, but > the overall principle and ethos has remained *precisely* the same since > day one, and it is not intended to be an organisation that makes huge > profits. The money from the sale of CDs is ploughed back in to make it > grow for the benefit of everyone. The whole thing is a very fine > balancing act. If the project was purely "business for profit", then it > would be easier to build up a buffer to cater for the "down times". > Trying to strike a balance between feeding the animal's overheads, > paying staff and yet still meeting our objectives is much more > difficult. In fact, the responsibility can tend to become a little scary > at times. > > The mission statement is the same today that it has always been since > the foundation of Archive CD Books in March 2000: > > "The Archive CD Books Project exists to make reproductions of old books, > documents and maps available on CD to genealogists and historians, and > to co-operate with libraries, museums and record offices in providing > money to renovate old books in their collection, and to donate books to > their collections, where they will be preserved for future generations." > > ..... and we are succeeding ! > > The Archive CD Books Project relies very heavily on "word of mouth" > recommendations. We cannot justify huge expenses on formal advertising. > (If we did that, the prices of the CDs would certainly have to be > increased). We are very grateful to those supporters who add : > "I use Archive CD Books to help with my research - > http://www.archivecdbooks.org" > to their message tag lines on the genealogy mailing lists. Even more so, > it is very gratifying to see people helping each other on the genealogy > discussion lists on the internet by using their copies of the CDs to > help others find ancestors, and help to fill in the background > information by looking for information about towns and villages > contained in the CD books. That is what our hobby is all about. People > helping each other. (Please note that not all producers of CDs are happy > with the use of their products in this way, and consider it to be an > infringement of their copyright - we do not.) > > Without this "word of mouth" activity taking place on the genealogy > mailing lists our CDs do not sell in sufficient quantities to justify > the cost of buying the books, producing them on CD, and renovating them > for the record offices and libraries, etc. The only alternatives would > be to either not produce them on CD or to increase the prices > considerably, and that would defeat the object of the Archive CD Books > Project. On the other hand, in the areas where we get the most support, > we feel much more confident in producing more of these old and rare > books on CD. > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > Books loaned by a County Record Office, Local Studies Library, Museum or > Family History Society > > Organisations such as these have a vast collection of books that are > suitable for the project. > > The best ones of course, are those that contain lots of peoples' names. > They will always be the most popular, although really good county > history books and old topography and guide books can provide a vast > amount of background information for family historians too. > > One of the problems that these organisations have, is the lack of funds > to renovate and rebind old books. Many in their collections are in > pitiful state. But it is a very costly exercise - anything from £50 to > £200. It is a skilled task to renovate an old book to original condition > with calf leather and gold lettering, embossing, etc. > > The answer is staggeringly simple - The Archives CD Books Project pays > for the renovation of the books. We have done it already in many, many > cases, and we shall do it again and again. > > But we want something in return - we would like to borrow books. We > appreciate that such organisations often have a rule - no books leave > the premises - but in these circumstances rules can be bent a little, as > there is so much to gain. And we find that as the project becomes better > known, then Principal Archivists and Curators are more willing to co- > operate. We do it once and it works, and that opens up the doors to more > co-operation. It's all down to trust. > > The book is usually needed on loan for a week or so. Enough time to scan > it. > > A copy (or few) of the finished CD is also donated to the organisation. > That saves future wear and tear on the books as the public can view the > books on CD. > > We also give old books to these organisations. Books that we have > purchased for the project from dealers need a good home. I am happy to > simply donate them after they have been scanned and the CDs produced. > They are of no further use to the project, so why not? (We have a policy > of giving away books to places that will preserve them rather than > having them subjected to wear and tear). But again, we would like > something in return. The loan of more books, and again, we are prepared > to pay for them to be renovated. > > > --------------------------------------------------------- > > Books Loaned by Individuals > > There are a lot of people out there who have private collections, or the > odd book that they have picked up from a dealer's bookshop. What do they > gain from loaning books to the project? Nothing other than a tremendous > amount of satisfaction that they are helping other genealogists and > historians. Fortunately, there are lots of people out there who want to > share in this way just to help others. It's brilliant! > > Books are needed on loan for a week or so, sometimes longer if there are > a lot of books in the pipeline waiting to be scanned. It is the scanning > that is the slow part of all this. To date I have been loaned lots of > really good books by individuals. Some books even come from the other > side of the world for scanning. > > Books that come to the Archives CD Books Project from individuals are > especially valuable to the project. They costs nothing! But the funds > from the sale of the CDs can be used to purchase other books, or to help > pay for renovation of books loaned by museums and county record offices, > etc. That all helps the project to grow. > > If you have a book which could be loaned to the project then please > contact us by e-mailing: [email protected] - Allyson Cline > deals with those, and keeps a "virtual queue" of offered books and > requests them when we can fit them into the scanning schedule. That > means that you will not be without your valuable book for a long period. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------- > > Books Purchased for the Archive CD Books Project > > Some of these old books are very expensive. Gone are the days when they > could be picked up in junk stores for a few pounds. People know their > value, and so they end up with specialist antiquarian booksellers. > Having said that, I do have a set of eight books here (The Records of > the Borough of Nottingham) that were rescued from being dumped in a > rubbish skip. And two others (The Ossett Burgess Rolls - now on CD) lent > to the project by someone who picked them up in a car boot sale for > £1.00 each! But that is rare. > > Old books cost a lot of money. The "cheapest" ones are the little 1830 > Pigot's county directories - anything from 15 to 150 pages - which sell > for around £40.00 each at present. A later county directory with about > 600-800 pages can be purchased from about £80.00 if you are lucky - and > it is likely to be in very poor condition indeed, literally falling > apart at the seams. One in good condition can fetch around £180.00 or > more. Some books, or sets of volumes can cost £500.00 or more! > > Generally speaking, if there are sufficient funds in the coffers, I can > purchase these books from book dealers. I have no problem with that, as > long as I consider that it is likely that enough CDs can be sold to > cover the costs. In the worst case scenario, if CDs do not sell, then > the books can always be re-sold afterwards. But its hard to sell enough > CDs to cover the cost of a £150.00 book plus the production costs. We > win on some and lose on some. > > However, if the sale of CDs is successful, then the books are then "paid > for", and actually become surplus to requirements. I don't need to keep > them. So - rather than selling them, I would prefer to literally give > them away - to a County Record Office, museum, or local studies library > in the county where they belong.... but in exchange for their co- > operation in loaning books to the Archive CD Books Project. By buying > one book, and then giving it away, we gain more books for the project. > Everyone gains! > > Just occasionally, something really very special happens. It has > happened a few times now. I find a book for sale, but can't afford to > buy it at that moment. If I don't buy it, then it will be sold to > someone else, and the opportunity would be lost. People have offered to > pay for the books! They don't want them personally - they just want all > of us to be able to have them on CD to aid in our family history > research. In these cases, the people concerned have simply said "Donate > the book to a good home after it has been scanned". Just how on earth do > we all find words to thank people such as those? > > But it is this sort of thing that the Archive CD Books Project is all > about. It feels very good indeed. > > Rod Neep > > > -- > > ARCHIVE CD BOOKS - > A not for profit project to reproduce old books on CD for genealogists > and pay for the restoration of books in Record Offices, Libraries, etc. > Mailing list : [email protected] (for discussions) > Weekly News : [email protected] (weekly announcements & news) > E-mail : [email protected] > Web : http://www.archivecdbooks.org > > > ==== CDBOOKS Mailing List ==== > The Archive CD Books Project http://www.archivecdbooks.org > For the weekly newsletter subscribe to > [email protected] --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.350 / Virus Database: 196 - Release Date: 17/04/2002