Last week, we talked about “Finding Public Domain Treasure by Touring Your Local Library Online!”.
Have you been waiting for Part II? I hope so… because your local library could open up an entire new set of ideas for you.
At the very least, it gives you access to “bunches o’ stuff” you may not have otherwise known were available.
Okay… so here we go - more treasure hunting on a library website.
This time, we want to find things we can actually take home with us. 
BTW – in case you were wondering where to find the growing image library in Arizona – http://images.lib.ci.phoenix.az.us/
And here is the copyright statement:
Photographs presented throughout this web site are issued by the Phoenix Public Library and/or the Phoenix Museum of History with the understanding that photographs are not to be resold or copied for resale as a photo print. Photographs may be used in one publication, film or video production, or display, provided credit is given to the owning agency, as identified in the photographic record (Phoenix Public Library or Phoenix Museum of History). Users of any photographs presented in the collection assume all responsibility for possible copyright infringement and invasion of privacy from the use of a reproduction.
Pretty cool huh?
On with more Phoenix Public Library research:
As you can see, I changed the dates to search for 1923 -1950.
The very first listing was for this book. I checked on Google and archive.org and this book has not been digitized. But is it copyright protected?
Turns out it is as you can see by the renewal record above!
I guess it would have been to0 easy to find the very first book listed out of copyright. 
More looking…
I love all things related to Taos, New Mexico. And look what I found:
This is really interesting. This author is a favorite of mine… she writes about the old artists of Taos, a subject I can’t get enough of. (oh… we all have our secrets)
I of course did all the checking I could for copyright protection…
I found several of her books, but Not The One Available From the Library!
I checked archive.org… I Googled it… I checked Amazon… And this book with this title has not been digitized or republished. How cool is that?
An original copy of this book is expensive! The price so far ranges from $75 – $125 and I can’t check it out! So I’m going to get myself to Phoenix one of these days and scan it! Love this! (oh… and I set up an alert on eBay to send me an email if the book shows up for auction)
You may be wondering why I’m not using the website of my “local” library. Because they don’t have an advanced search by date. So what do I do? I use the Phoenix Library website because of their excellent search functionality… and then I can search for the title locally once I know the book exists and what its title is.
If the book is available for Interlibrary Loan… I’m “in like flynn”!
Sometimes it pays to be persistent with the library search engine’s… and sometimes I just have to wait for a trip to Phoenix to “get my book”.
About The Author:
 Debra Conrad is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2007. She is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Debra, click here. |
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My wife bought this course from you not too long ago, we are now separated, and left it on the computer abandoned, and I have been following along, but I must say it is not working very well, I am unable to locate a single thing on the internet with a resolution bigger then a thumb nail. Still, it is interesting.
Mark, did you get the updated version of the kit a few months ago?
Debra,
When you say, “and scan it”, what do you use to scan? I have an HP all-in-one printer that scans one page at a time and it would take forever to do even 50 pages.
I’ve been looking at auto-feed scanners, but I have some very old books with Victorian era fashion in them that I really don’t want to take apart.
I’ve also seen companies online that will scan your books for a fee. I have the material, but am stuck on the best and fastest way to scan them to make a product.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Debra
Hi Debra,
Hope you don’t mind if I jump in here with my two cents since I’ve noticed your comment hasn’t been replied to yet.
When it comes to scanners, you’re better off getting ahold of a dedicated unit. Not to knock All In Ones, they’re great for most office tasks but a dedicated scanner works much better and faster. A buddy of mine has a Fujitsu sheet-fed scanner that’ll scan a whole page at 300 dpi in like 1 second but he doesn’t mind tearing his books apart to scan them.
Personally, I prefer the flatbed variety so I can scan without removing the binding from the book. As far as speed and quality, it all boils down to money of course. Generally, the more expensive the scanner the faster the results (at higher quality).
My suggestion is to buy the best flatbed scanner you can given your budget, then continously reinvest in your business by upgrading scanners every chance you get as your income grows. A good scanner has an almost immediate ROI in terms of time savings (which of course equates directly to your bottom line if that saved time is used properly).
As you mentioned, the ultimate way to handle these things is to have someone you trust do the scanning for you while you focus on the other important areas of your business…
BookScanning.com and Golden Images (http://www.pdfdocument.com) are both the official preferred book scanning services of “The International League of Public Domain Treasure Hunters”…
Ok, there is no ILPDTH but it sounds good
Hi Logan,
Exactly the info I was looking for! Also, just finished reading the guest article about scanning on Public Domain Treasure Blog, perfect. Thanks so much!
Debra