September 2021
Fort Bend County Libraries (FBCL) is excited to offer a new high-performance microfilm scanner to the Genealogy and Local History Department at George Memorial Library in Richmond.
Family-history researchers and fans of local history will be able to use the new ScanPro 3000 microfilm scanner to digitally capture, enhance, save, and print or email images from microfilm, microfiche, 35-mm slides, and more.
The ScanPro microfilm scanner has the capability of not only reading the film, but also enhancing it by enlarging the print, adjusting the brightness, and cropping images. The high-quality resolution of the scanner results in archival-quality images.
The images projected on the monitor are much clearer than what has been available before, and the scanner includes sophisticated tools that enable the user to clean up the original images even more by adjusting the brightness and contrast, zooming in, or straightening them.
Patrons may use the library’s extensive collection of microfilm/microfiche resources, or they may bring film or slides of their own for viewing on the new scanner. Images can be saved digitally to a flash drive, printed, or emailed.
“As a Regional Historical Resource Depository location, Fort Bend County Libraries has official records from surrounding counties – Austin, Brazoria, Matagorda, Waller, and Wharton – as well as Fort Bend County,” says Daniel Sample, manager of FBCL’s Genealogy and Local History Department. “These records include deed records from the 1800s and 1900s, tax records, and probate files, among others. Our new scanner makes these records easier to navigate, and the ability to enhance, sharpen, and clarify images makes the records even more readable.”
FBCL’s historical collection on microfilm includes scanned issues of The Rosenberg Herald (1909-1958), The Texas Coaster (1920-1958), The Rosenberg Tribune (1935-1936), The Herald Coaster/Fort Bend Herald (1958-present), and the Fort Bend Mirror (1961-1984).
Other area newspapers in the microfilm collection include the Telegraph & Texas Register, Houston, Texas (1835-1875), The Galveston Daily News (1865-1917), and The Brookshire Times (1899-1984).
“We are also able to access Texas county records from across the state through the Interlibrary Loan service,” says Sample. “Microfilm or microfiche can be requested from other locations and sent to George Memorial Library, where they can be viewed on the ScanPro microfilm scanner.”
The ScanPro microfilm scanner is available for public use during regular business hours at George Memorial Library in Richmond.
For more information, call the Genealogy and Local History Department at George Memorial Library at (281) 341-2608.