I used a hand scanner to scan the profiles from the West Point Foundry
"workers houses" from the field and then with Corel scan to vector
software bring them into state plane coordinates in AutoCAD back in
1992-1993. It worked pretty well as you could adjust the input and all
the graph paper lines would disappear leaving only the drawing. Once
they were cleaned up and often "closed" as polygons they were exported
back to image software where the strata were painted or filled further
(then AutoCAD was mostly filling closed objects with hatching. There
was a certain satisfaction in that what was drawn was what was
"framed" by the rest of the drawing.

There was just a recent NY Times review of some of the scanners by
David Pogue which he attempts to get the scoop on the Harry Potter
book which is pretty funny over at the tech reviews he does. Some work
solo some work with a notebook computer. I recall having to check with
the library if you can scan somethings because of light issues. I once
stood on a large portable ladder the Map Room of the NY Public Library
had to photograph a large scale map which hinted at a partnership with
a large dairy owner with then "Boss" Tweed administration to control
the land around the proposed new aqueduct. The map was the largest I'd
ever seen on paper and tough to photograph, considering we were
interested in the one section, where the high voltage underground
cable that was going to come through from biogeneration at the world's
second largest sugar refinery in Yonkers to the power grid at
Dunwoodie, NY.

"State of the Art: Here is Your Pen Scanner, Mr. Bond"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/technology/circuits/26pogue.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fP%2fPogue%2c%20David

George Myers