Dr Steve Arnold
BSc. (Hons) Chemistry & Physics, 1st (1993—6) Queen Mary, University of London
PhD. Chemical Physics (1996—2000) Queen Mary, University of London
Post Doc. Molecular Physics (2000) Queen Mary, University of London
Lecturer, Introductory Chemistry (2000—4) Queen Mary, University of London
Broadcasting Historian & Digitisation Consultant (2005—present)
Researcher, Genome Project (2010—present) BBC
Clients
research
May main expertise is broadcasting history but I am able to quickly and efficiently research to a brief and have access to several digital archives.
I have extensive collections of broadcasting related magazines: Radio Times, TVTimes, The Listener, London Calling, and a substantial library.
As part of the BBC100 celebrations, I was commissioned to fill all the gaps in the BBC Genome Project and supply listings for BBC output before the Radio Times was first published in 1923 and where editions didn't make it to press due to strikes and industrial action.
Approximately 42,300 schedule entries were created covering 2650 schedule days.
digitisation
I have a wealth of experience in digitising paper based archives and have a collection of scanners suitable for most jobs.
As a 'boutique' digitiser, each project receives the personal touch, whether it is a rare, fragile document, or bulk scanning of office paperwork with the most appropriate workflow chosen rather than the material shoe-horned into existing structures.
I'm experienced at using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to release the information within the digitised pages to create searchable archives and where OCR limits are reached, can offer manual transcription of data.
scoping
Q: Have a bundle of papers, a box of photos or negatives, or a whole archive but don't know where to start? Need a second opinion on advice already provided?
A: I can ask the right questions to guide you to the best solution, whether I carry out the final digitisation or not.
Q: Do you have a digitised archive that hasn't lived up to the expectations?
A: I can re-assess assets and data and provide advice to achieve your goals.