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What is Retroconversion?

Retroconversion turns information locked in paper — registers, ledgers, daybooks, card indexes, and older typed catalogues — into individual, catalogued records in your digital archive.

Instead of manually retyping entries one by one, retroconversion lets you:

  1. Photograph or scan the paper document
  2. Upload it to Archivers.ai
  3. Review the results — each entry becomes its own record
  4. Commit the records into your catalogue

The system extracts each entry as a separate record, linked back to its source page, so you can always verify it against the original.

What you can convert today​

Works now:

  • Typed or printed catalogue documents (PDF)
  • Photographed pages of registers, ledgers, and daybooks (JPEG, PNG, WebP, or TIFF — one photo per page)

Coming soon:

  • Card indexes
  • Typed lists
  • Handwritten registers with strong OCR candidates

Not yet:

  • Loose correspondence or maps and plans
  • Photographs of objects themselves
  • Audio descriptions of records

How it works​

When you start a retroconversion project, you:

  1. Pick a target collection — where the new records will file into your archival hierarchy
  2. Upload your source — one PDF, or multiple photographed pages at once
  3. Approve the structure — agree on what counts as one record and where each field goes
  4. Review the results — the system extracts entries and flags anything uncertain
  5. Commit — accepted records file into your collection with links to the source page
  6. Export — send the data to your catalogue system (AtoM, ArchivesSpace, CALM, or CSV)

Key features​

Page linkage. Every committed record carries a link to the page it came from, plus the entry's position on that page. You can always trace it back.

Source verification. Each extracted entry is shown side-by-side with the source page during review — you see the evidence, not just the result. After a record is committed, clicking the source name opens the original document in a new tab, always a reference back to where the entry came from.

Keyboard-first review. Navigate and approve entries from the keyboard — no mouse required. Designed for speed.

Smart uncertainty flags. The system marks fields it's uncertain about (especially reference numbers — they matter most). Certainty is quiet; doubt gets your attention.

Reusable templates. Set up the structure once; run as many batches as you need without re-agreeing each time.

Next steps​