The Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University has invited Derek Jenkins of IImage Retrieval (www.iiri.com) of Carrolton, Texas, to demonstrate two large format/book scanners. This demonstration is open to the public, and will include the digitization of the Diaries of Dr. Dang Thuy Tram, as well as a variety of other types of materials in the collections of the Vietnam Archive. The demonstration will be held in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library on the TTU campus, and the times will be:

Tuesday, July 11th, 1:30-4:30

Wednesday, July 12th, 9:00-11:30, 1:30-4:00

Please feel free to stop by at any point during the times listed above. Derek will be available to answer questions concerning the two scanners and the other equipment sold by his organization, and Archive staff will be on hand to demonstrate the digitization procedures and answer any questions you may have about the Archive.

The scanners that Derek Jenkins will be demonstrating are the DigiBook 10000RGB and the smaller CopiBook RGB. These scanners are uniquely suited for digitizing large format materials, as well as rare and fragile books and materials. The 10000RGB can scan items up to 25″x 37″ and even larger on the A0 version. In 2002, this scanner was used to digitize the Gutenberg Bible held by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. IImage Retrieval has sold numerous units of both models to universities and museums around the country. More information can be found on their website.

We invite you and your staff and any other interested parties to join us for this demonstration.

For more information, please contact:

Justin Saffell
Head, Information Technology
The Vietnam Archive, TTU
justin.saffell@ttu.edu (mailto:justin.saffell@ttu.edu)
806-742-9010

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making affiliate of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), has awarded the Vietnam Archive a grant for $48,565 to process the records of the Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association (FVPPA). The Vietnamese American Heritage Foundation (VAHF) donated the 135 linear foot collection to the archive in June 2005. The grant will fund the hiring of a project archivist and one student assistant for one year. The project archivist and assistant will arrange the records, re-house the records and perform basic preservation care, and prepare a comprehensive finding aid for the collection. The Vietnam Archive will also provide conservation treatment for 15 feet of mold-damaged material in the collection.

The Families of Vietnamese Political Prisoners Association was founded in 1977 in Arlington, Virginia. The organization worked toward the release of reeducation camp detainees in Vietnam and assisted applicants for the Orderly Departure Program, a program created to stem illegal and dangerous departures from Vietnam. The FVPPA also provided resettlement support for recent Vietnamese immigrants to the U.S., and lobbied Congress and corresponded with other government officials on behalf of Vietnamese immigrants and refugees.

For twenty years the FVPPA assisted, and kept detailed paper records on, at least 10,000 Vietnamese in their immigration and resettlement in the United States. By organizing, cataloging, and making the records of the FVPPA available to researchers, this project will significantly advance the study of the Vietnamese immigration experience.

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