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.
Video recordings are even more expensive to digitize.
The DVD will store between 4 and 14 gigabytes, depending on how many layers and sides are used. The arrival of this technology is none too soon, as videotape is again a fragile medium and an inconvenient one to search through. Researchers such as Howard Wachtlar at Carnegie-Mellon are already working on techniques to search digital videos efficiently and effectively. Libraries are not the only organizations that will make use of digitization of old content. Businesses scan or key phone bills, architectural drawings, utility location maps, and health care records.