SEMA presents at international symposium

SEMA demonstrates how it has transformed hard copy documents, including original Hansard transcripts from Australia's federation in 1901, into digital images that are accessible online

Today SEMA is attending an international symposium held at Parliamentary Library, Parliament House in Canberra with more than 100 delegates from around the world. With the theme of 'Fundamental to Democracy: Parliamentary library and research services', we are showcasing the tremendous work we have done in digitising an extensive library of parliamentary documents including the federal government's Hansard.

In September 2009, SEMA entered into a Deed of Agreement with the Department of Parliamentary Services to digitise Australia's historical Hansard, which consists of collections of political party reports, media reports and newspaper archives, as well as other paper-based archives owned by the Parliamentary Library and other areas within the department. These materials are in varying stages of fragility, dating back to Australia's federation in 1901, and therefore of enormous significance to Australia's history.

Scanned, quality checked, validated and categorised with 100% text search capability and 99% accuracy, these documents are now available on-line at the Parliamentary Library website for the public. We are helping to keep Australia's history alive in the digital era, and as an Australian business we're proud of the role we have played in preserving these irreplaceable documents. It is another way SEMA assists the Australian government to stay engaged with its people.

If you're on Twitter, follow us at @SEMAgroup. We're providing updates as the day progresses.