The North Carolina Room and the Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County are partnering together to offer the “Scan the Plan” project.
Anyone with eligible architectural drawings can come to the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial library and get your plans digitized. The service only takes a few minutes, and participants will be able to walk away with a digitized copy and their drawings. A copy of the scan will be added to the library’s Architectural Drawings collection and made accessible for future study. “Scan the Plan” has two great benefits: the drawings get preserved and the information base for the entire community is increased.
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.
Front elevation architectural drawing for the residence of Judge J.G. Adams, 11 Stuyvesant Road, Biltmore Forest. Architect, Charles N. Parker, Jan. 1921.
“Scan the Plan” is totally funded by a federal grant to turn architectural drawings into digital images. Last year, the State Library of North Carolina, through the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded the North Carolina Room, Buncombe County Public Library a $66,750 grant. The money went toward a 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 (PSABC), 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”.
Scanning Dates are:
Saturday, March 14th, 12 noon to 4:30 pm;
Tuesday, April 14th, 5 pm to 8 pm;
Saturday, May 2nd, 12 noon to 4:30 pm
If you have any questions please contact the North Carolina Room at 828-250-4740, or if you have a large number of sheets, or several projects call us and we can schedule a different time to scan your drawings.
“The PSABC is thrilled to be part of this project. Anything that works to record and preserve our region’s built environment and history is a good thing,” says Jack Thomson, Executive Director of PSABC. “Through today’s technology, these old blueprints can last forever for everyone.”
North Carolina Room
Pack Memorial Library
67 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC
Lower Level
828-250-4740
packnc@buncombecounty.org
