SUNBURY -- "Information at your fingertips" is the motto for Harris Micrographics Inc., in Sunbury. Soon, Capt. George Tyger, Army chaplain stationed in Afghanistan, will see firsthand how literal that really is.
In the rugged and mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, Tyger knew it would be impossible to carry all of his books, pamphlets and hymnals with him as he ministered to the soldiers in the field, possibly many miles from his office or main base. Before heading overseas, he knew he had to find another way of doing his job.
And that's when he called his old college buddy for some help.
Jason Harris, vice president of operations at Harris Micrographics, met Tyger at Lycoming College, in Williamsport, where they were both members of the same fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon. Shortly after college, when Tyger attended seminary, Harris joined the staff of his father's business, which specializes in converting information to electronic formats. The company first began with microfiche technology and is now fully embracing the digital age.
Harris was glad to help his friend. Before he was sent overseas, Tyger arranged to have boxes of books sent to Harris Micrographics. Upon their arrival, Harris set out to convert Tyger's entire library onto discs and thumb drives.
"All the literature, books, everything he has in the United States, are now going to be available on a thumb drive," Harris said. "You couldn't pick up the hundreds of pounds of boxes, but now you can put them in your pocket." A thumb drive can contain thousands of pages of documents, and, according to Harris, the memory is equivalent to several DVDs on one small device.
Everything that is converted onto a thumb drive is also placed on a disc, which Tyger will also be given. However, while discs can become scratched easily -- especially in the environment Tyger is in in Afghanistan -- the thumb drive can be safely transported everywhere. To access the information, Tyger needs only to plug the drive into a computer's USB port. If he plans to be in a situation where no laptops are available, he can print the information he needs and take it with him.
"Each book, or section of a book, is placed into a file," Harris said. "They can then search for a file name, open the book up, and the software allows them to leaf through the pages much as you would an actual book." The information being sent to Tyger will be in a PDF format that allows for easy viewing.
In the case of a lost thumb drive or disc, or something else happening to the electronic information, Harris Micrographics will keep copies of the information on discs in their vault at its Sunbury office. The company would be able to make another disc and send it to him if necessary.
Harris and his staff were unsure of Tyger's specific situation as a chaplain in a religiously closed country like Afghanistan and decided to err on the side of caution. The thumb drive is unmarked, and the information is encrypted. In case of a lost device, or if Tyger doesn't want someone to see the information, it is fully secured. A password is needed to open any of the files.
Captain Tyger served in the Army for a time during college and attended seminary shortly after college. The Army later offered him a job to come back into the Army as a captain, with a requirement of several years of service in Afghanistan. In a recent message to Harris, Tyger told him it's a small world, saying the security force he is now serving with is from the Williamsport Reserve Unit.
According to Harris, Tyger is making plans to go to Airborne and Ranger School.
Harris Micrographics, located at 161 Shikellamy Ave., offers services such as document scanning and indexing, data encryption, database conversions, business IT services and solutions, Web-enabled surveillance cameras, and safe document shredding and disposal. They can be contacted at 286-9922 or info@harrismicro.com.
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Chaplain's library fits in his pocket
Local firm provides digital resources for Army chaplain
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