Free Scan for Old Home Blueprints - 4/14

Preservation Society and Buncombe County Library Partner in “Scan the Plan” Project

The Preservation Society and Buncombe's Pack Library have teamed up to offer local residents a free opportunity to turn old architectural drawings into digital images. “Scan the Plan” will help our region preserve historic blueprints and make them available as an information base for the entire community. Any local resident with blueprints of a western North Carolina home or building at least 50 years old can take advantage of the “Scan the Plan” project.

“Scan the Plan” will take place in the NC Room at Pack Library on:

• Tuesday, April 14 from 5 - 8 pm;
• Saturday, May 2 from 12 - 4:30 pm.

On these days, anyone with eligible blueprints can come to the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Library and get plans digitized. The service only takes a few minutes, and participants will be able to walk away with a CD or thumb drive digitized copy, along with the original blueprint. A copy of the scan will be added to the library’s Architectural Collection and made accessible for future study.

Participants may also drop off blueprints prior to the scheduled dates and pick up completed scans later that week. For multiple blueprints (5 or more), a pre-scheduled scanning session for later pickup is recommended. The North Carolina Room is on the lower floor of Pack Memorial Library at 67 Haywood Street in Asheville and can be reached at 250-4740. 

“Scan the Plan is a promising project,” says Zoe Rhine, Librarian, North Carolina Room. “Any architectural drawing that can be both preserved and made accessible adds to our community’s knowledge as well as to the future study of Asheville’s architectural heritage.”

“Scan the Plan” is funded by a federal grant to turn architectural drawings into digital images. Totaling $72,500, this grant was made possible through funding from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources. The money went toward one large bed scanner, salaries for two part-time workers, and software that makes digital information more research-accessible. “Scan the Plan”, in partnership with The Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County, is just one of multiple projects made possible by the grant. Volunteer PSABC members will be assisting in digital scanning on the scheduled days of “Scan the Plan”.

For more information contact  Zoe Rhine, Librarian, at 250-4740     packnc@buncombecounty.org.