In keeping with growing technical demands, the photography department has recently expanded its digital lab with the purchase of a new Olympus C2000 Zoom filmless, digital camera. The C2000 is able to capture an image at an extremely high resolution in TIFF (Tagged-Image File Format) format which supports a compression method that does not discard detail from the image as it is transferred (as opposed to the more common JPEG format which does discard detail).

By shooting the images in this format we are not only able to provide our customers, patrons, and fellow institutions with a superior quality print, but the images that are to be displayed on our website will also be of the highest standard.

The ability to scan and transfer images in TIFF format is essential for the development of our forthcoming on-line web catalog. The first purpose of the catalog is to maintain and document the vast ANS collection.

It also, however, can provide access to a broader audience, meeting the needs of those who seek to utilize our collection and those who are new to the study of numismatics. Moreover, the equipment upgrade allows the department to refine its photo-digital imagery techniques. The department is also looking forward to posting on-line exhibits at our website, working hand in hand with the curatorial and computer departments to share our collection with numismatists and non-numismatists alike.