Automatic Book Scanner

 

Some inventions are only around to fill a temporary void. Think of the Brother-P-Touch, that digital typewriter that was so popular in the 80′s, or that machine that converts your VHS Tapes to DVD. But sometimes, a machine that has reached something approaching design perfection, a machine that is as much art as function, lives on and becomes an antique, and object of historical exhibition. I think this automated book scanner may be such an item. There are only so many old books in need of scanning, and new books will start in digital format, but if we were going to keep a few book scanners around after the demand were gone, I would want this to be one of them. It is a pleasure to watch, a whispered intake of breath gently lifting each page while it scans both sides, an exhale letting go and moving on.