Released on = February 13, 2007, 11:03 pm

Press Release Author = Karen Tarica/SmallTownPapers, Inc.

Industry = Internet & Online

Press Release Summary = Maryland company completes two million scans of never-before
digitized newspapers from small towns across the US. These pages will, for the
first time, become online accessible and searchable.

Press Release Body = Frederick, Maryland-based Crowley Micrographics, Inc.,
recognized for its high-quality, digital book and newspaper scanning services, has
completed the digitization of more than two million pages of historical newspapers
from small towns across the country. Seattle-based SmallTownPapers, Inc. selected
Crowley for this project which makes millions of small-town newspaper pages
online-accessible and searchable for the first time.

Before the launch of this project, most of the weekly newspapers, dating back as far
as the 1800s, had been inaccessible to the more than 35 million Americans who,
according to Pew Internet and American Life Project, research their family and
community history online each year.

"Not only can I now view and search small town newspapers but the images are
perfectly clear and the pages are presented just as the newspaper was printed which
enhances my ability to research and document family history," said Adam Deason, a
Murray, Utah native and family historian with roots in a small town in the southern
US.

Unlike America's larger daily newspapers, weekly papers from small towns rarely
could afford to microfilm their editions. Today, while most newspaper archives can
be accessed online or through local libraries, thousands of small-town newspapers
have their archives confined to a single, delicate issue kept in a bound volume in
the newspaper office. Searching for information is complicated and time-consuming.
Working with Crowley Micrographics, SmallTownPapers provides publishers with a safe
and high-quality option for preserving and making the papers online accessible.

"We frequently have customers come into our office searching old papers for
genealogy-related information, historical research and obituaries, and then wanting
to make photocopies from these large bound volumes of books; however, our books are
becoming faded and fragile due to everyday wear and age and are not suitable for
copying," said Cara Young from Charles Town, West Virginia's Spirit of Jefferson
Farmer's Advocate newspaper which has archives going back to the early 1900s. "I
found that after having the newspapers scanned, especially the older ones, the
quality of the images is clear and easy to read, and customers can now visit the
website, find what they're looking for and print out the information in their own
home without having to handle the aging books."

Young, like many publishers, is pleased to discover that the bound books were
carefully handled and safely returned to her after the scanning process was
complete. That is largely why Crowley was selected for this project - it is a
recognized leader in the field of bound book and large format scanning. Now past
the two million mark, Crowley embarks on the next phase of this newspaper project.
SmallTownPapers has an archive of more than 20 million newspaper pages with that
number expected to significantly increase.

"This project would not be where it is today without Crowley," said SmallTownPapers
president Paul Jeffko. "They have earned the respect of our publishers who feel
confident sending their one-of-a-kind materials to Crowley. That confidence is
translating into tremendous growth for SmallTownPapers."

"We expect our success with the first two million pages to spur growth beyond our
initial expectations to as many as 40 million pages in the next few years," Jeffko
added.


Web Site = http://www.smalltownpapers.com

Contact Details = SmallTownPapers, Inc.
5026 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98136
(206) 369-0855 - Karen Tarica
(206) 938-9073 - SmallTownPapers switchboard