Preserving old and brittle documents for the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC)

The Kanpur Municipal Corporation is the custodian of the legacy and administrative data of the city of Kanpur, working towards the betterment of its people. The municipal corporation is also responsible for the upkeep and access of data safely and securely for centuries.

CHALLENGE

The corporation holds an extensive collection of data including Birth and Death records, land records, administrative records, legal papers, etc. in physical form. This data, apart from having historical value, is very precious from the revenue, compliance, and administrative perspective to keep the city resilient.

The corporation wanted to ensure easy access with zero manipulation along with migration-free, unalterable, long-term preservation of the data. They wanted to create a process of digitizing that will last be accessible for centuries.

The biggest challenge was the brittle and damaged condition of the registers along with their odd sizes. Since they were torn, and in a brittle state, using normal scanning devices was not possible and we also had to ensure that these documents go back to their original file safely.

SOLUTION

Piql started with the scanning and digitizing process of the data by using state-of-the-art customized overhead scanners to ensure that pages are not damaged. Post digitization Piql used its migration-free, future-proof digital preservation solution by storing the digitized data in analog form on microfilm.

Piql offered a tailored solution that provided greater longevity, greater affordability, and guaranteed future access to their growing digital collection without the fear of being manipulated. The Piql solution ensured future-proof, unalterable, flexible, migration-free, and completely searchable access to KMC and its stakeholders.

The KMC has now the ultimate insurance for their stored data—with guaranteed future access.

FUTURE

The KMC is continuing to digitize its collection and will preserve more of its data in the future.

This project has been such a success for Kanpur Municipal Corporation that Piql is replicating the service for other states’ municipal corporations.