This lets someone quickly scan the stories on the page, and compensates for the lower resolution of screens as opposed to paper. Much besides paper can be converted to digital form. The Library of Congress, for example, has some 20,000 wax cylinders of sound recordings from the early years of this century. National Public Radio, for example, has lost some of its master recordings from as recently as the 1970s as a result of tape deterioration. Perhaps the hardest items to convert are maps and videos.
Maps are large and detailed.
The resulting 125 Mbyte image would be a nuisance to manipulate even today. And yet much valuable information is available on maps. The railway line crossing from right to left is the same in each picture. Note, for example, that the pond at the bend of the river is only seen in the 19th century map. Anyone planning to build on this site would probably like to know that it used to be under water.