Backstage Library Works

10/22/2026

Sometimes, digitizing is like working out a puzzle. When these artifacts arrived to Backstage from the George C. Marshall Foundation, we had to evaluate the best workflow for capturing their unique needs. By positioning the lights in a specific way, we were able to illuminate the embossed image for a fantastic final result.

09/29/2026

In 2025, a grant supplied by the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) made it possible for three linear feet of the The Erksine Hewitt Collection of Cooper-Hewitt papers, maintained by The Cooper Union, to be digitized and transcribed. Manual transcription is a costly and time-consuming process, so Backstage proposed an alternative: would the library consider partnering on a pilot to evaluate the effectiveness of handwritten transcription performed by computer?

Learn more with our latest blog: link in the comments!

09/15/2026

Next week, catch our team at the Council of State Archivists annual meeting in Columbia, South Carolina! Will we see you there?

09/14/2026

Acquiring books and DVDs in a variety of languages is a great way to keep a diverse catalog that meets a range of patron needs. But cataloging in languages outside of staff's expertise comes with obstacles.

At Backstage, we have a network of catalogers from around the world who can lend a hand with translations, transliterations, subject analysis, and more--and in over 120 different languages, dialects and scripts.

Acquiring books and DVD's in a variety of languages is a great way ...

09/07/2026

All offices are closed today for Labor Day! See you tomorrow! 😎

08/25/2026

Every few years, our team invites survey participants to share how they are conducting authority control maintenance and with which resources. This is a topic that has changed much in the last decade, particularly in relation to available authority control vendors and the depth of bibliographic enrichment that is possible by today’s systems and standards.

The following is an overview of our latest survey conducted in July 2026, in our latest blog - link in the comments!

08/20/2026

The Museum of American Glass in West Virginia has an incredible collection of glasswork, from cups and decorative dishware to figures and sculptures and more. While our team had the pleasure of visiting the collection in person, the museum has a growing online collection that you may browse as well - check it out for yourself on their website!

Which piece is your favorite?

08/05/2026

Through a broad range of applications, the Collections Stewardship "funds projects to preserve and make available physical and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public engagement in the humanities."

If you plan to partner on your upcoming project, we can help, and we're always here to answer questions while you prepare your grant response!

NEH’s Collections Stewardship grant program is now accepting applications!

Application deadline is December 15, 2026. Learn more: https://shorturl.at/QYgax

07/29/2026

(Link in the comments!) Successful digitization projects rely on pre-planning. Knowing your collection is step one. Step two is planning out your metadata and necessary file derivative while keeping your DAM's requirements in mind.

In this blog, we'll outline the primary use cases for TIFFs, JPEGs, JPEG-2000s, and PDFs—all image derivatives that are provided, free of charge, with any Backstage digitization project.

07/24/2026

Today, our Utah offices will be closed for Pioneer Day; Pennsylvania and field offices remain open. Thank you!