/ Case Studies Heritage Digitisation
Blackburn Register Office
Bringing historical register information into digital form
Blackburn Register Office’s digitisation project with Microform covered 2,500 registers and 625,000 entries. It demonstrates the volume of information held in a local register collection and the specialist work involved in creating a usable digital counterpart.
Microform combines heritage digitisation expertise with an understanding of how register offices use historical information. Its service covers archival image capture, quality control, transcription and the REG platform, enabling projects to be shaped around the collection and the needs of registration staff.
For a collection of 2,500 registers, this approach connects the physical work of handling and scanning volumes with the practical requirements of finding and using an entry. It provides a framework for managing scale while keeping the information in its original context.
/ The Challenge
The relationship between an entry and its original register is essential to navigating historical registration information. A useful approach must preserve the image detail while retaining the references that help staff identify the correct record.
Careful capture and image quality
Microform’s service uses professional archival equipment and image quality checks to support readable, consistent capture. For bound registers, the aim is to preserve the visible content of the source, including headings, handwriting and annotations, rather than separate an entry from the context needed to understand it.
Transcription and structured retrieval
The register office service includes transcription into structured search fields. Depending on the register type and information present, these can include names, event year, registration district or sub-district and entry number. Linking these fields to images gives staff a more direct route to the relevant record than browsing page images alone.
REG and certificate production
REG is Microform’s platform designed specifically for register offices. Its capabilities include selecting content from different entry layouts for certificate output and replacing an image when an entry is updated. This recognises that a historical register collection can continue to receive annotations and additions after initial scanning.
Access and collection management
Microform’s wider service can combine tracked transport, staged processing, progressive digital delivery and scan-on-demand access while registers are offsite. Hosting, backups, user permissions, audit trails and staff training are also available within its register office offering, with the delivery arrangements defined around each project.
Project scale and practical value
Blackburn illustrates Microform’s experience with register collections at scale. The project sits within a wider service that brings together careful capture, structured information and purpose-built register office software, supporting the continued usefulness and preservation of historical records.
/ Long-term benefits
Long-term archive preservation
High-quality digital images help protect original registers by reducing routine handling while retaining handwriting, annotations and surrounding record details.
Improved historical record access
Digitised registers provide lasting access to historical information, allowing staff to consult records without relying solely on physical volumes.
More efficient record searches
Structured transcription linked to digital images helps staff locate specific entries and identify the correct information more easily.
Sustained certificate production
REG supports certificate workflows and image updates, helping digital records remain useful as registration information changes.
/ Conclusion
Blackpool illustrates Microform’s experience with register collections at scale. The project sits within a wider service that brings together careful capture, structured information and purpose-built register office software, supporting the continued usefulness and preservation of historical records.