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If you’ve ever tried to find information on the proper restoration materials for an early pre-war car, you know how difficult that can be. Imagine trying to find information for a 1910 EMF or a 1902 Winton. Fortunately, the Automotive Research Library of the Horseless Carriage Foundation is the one stop location that can retrieve information for almost every car that was ever manufactured in this country.
The Horseless Carriage Foundation Inc. is now fast forwarding from the 19th century into the 21st century and beyond. The HCFI was founded over 20 years ago for the purposes of conserving and preserving printed automotive materials that go back to the origins of the auto industry. Located in La Mesa, California, The HCFI serves a worldwide audience of auto collectors & restorers who need access to information regarding vehicles that haven’t been made for many years. Some of those requested documents are now more than 100 years old and are extremely fragile and cannot be replaced. The process of copying that information for clients has left pieces of brown or yellowing paper from the original documents on the existing copy machines.
In the interests of saving these historical links to the auto industry, the HCFI Board of Directors authorized an ambitious program to scan all of their periodicals from the earliest date 1895 to the year 1924. That would include seven major periodicals with 3,300 issues and a total of 330,000 plus pages. This will take considerable time as the deteriorating copy will have to be manually handled, page by page. In addition, more than 3,000 pieces of manufacturer’s literature will also be scanned and committed to disk formats.
After the periodicals are scanned into the database, we will also scan in owner’s manuals, wiring diagrams, serial number books, sales catalogs, technical books, advertisements, photos, auto supply books, accessory files & more. The computer uses a special type of scanner that can create new copy without having to bend the old books into positions that would severely damage them.
A special software is being used that will use a character recognition program in the scanning process that will index the contents and enable future users to search the library website at their leisure and determine if the materials they’re seeking are on file. This program will allow a search engine on any word you chose to enter, whether car, accessory, individual, etc and will bring up a list of what is available in that issue.
LIBRARY SEEKS FUNDS FOR SCANNING PROJECT
The Library scanning project is now under way with a full time employee. The equipment and software has been obtained and is working up to expectations.
Now we need your support to keep the project running.
The HCFI Board has authorized a plaque to be hung in the reading room listing everyone who contributes $100 or more toward this worthwhile project. All donors will receive an embroidered patch showing the Foundation’s emblem which can be sewn onto a coat or shirt. These patches will only be given for donations of $100 or more and will not be sold on a individual basis.
The Foundation is going to need a lot of support to keep this project going forward. Remember, we are preserving literature that you and future generations will need to keep automobiles authentic. There will be a continuing need for automotive research for years to come. You have a unique opportunity to be among those who had the foresight to use modern technology to save rare literature and its information for future generations.
Anyone with questions or who wishes to donate funds to this worthwhile project please contact Roberta Watkins at the HCFI Library The LIbrary is now accepting Scanner Project donations through our NEW SECURE server. You can make a donation HERE: or call (619) 464-0301 if you have any questions. |
