/ Case Studies Heritage Digitisation
Blackpool Register Office
Specialist digitisation for historical registration records
Microform’s project with Blackpool Register Office encompassed 2,300 registers containing 575,000 entries. This substantial collection highlights the importance of treating register digitisation as a specialist records project, with preservation and practical use considered together.
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 2,300 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
Bound registers contain information in layouts that can change over time. Page curvature, handwriting and annotations all need consideration during capture. Staff also need sufficient context to distinguish an individual entry from the surrounding material.
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
The Blackpool project covered 2,300 registers containing 575,000 entries. This is a substantial body of registration information brought within the scope of specialist digitisation. Digital copies provide a basis for consulting images while reducing routine reliance on the physical volumes; transcription and REG can extend that value into search and certificate workflows.
/ 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.