1. A method for creating digitized text for a record from an image of the record, comprising: obtaining one or more digital images of a record; evaluating the digital images in order to locate each of multiple word images; for each located word image, identifying multiple word features of that word image; assigning, to one group of word images, designated ones of the multiple word images based on the distance between the multiple word images, the distance representing the similarity of word features between at least two of the word images; selecting a representative word image in the one group of word images, by calculating, at a word clustering system, word feature values for the word features of each of the multiple word images assigned to the one group of word images, and using the word feature values to determine, at the word clustering system, a word image that is representative of the word images in the one group of word images; selecting digitized text for the representative word image; and assigning the selected digitized text to each of the word images in the one group of word images.
1. A method for creating digitized text for a record from an image of the record, comprising: obtaining one or more digital images of a record; evaluating the digital images in order to locate each of multiple word images; for each located word image, identifying multiple word features of that word image; assigning, to one group of word images, designated ones of the multiple word images based on the distance between the multiple word images, the distance representing the similarity of word features between at least two of the word images; selecting a representative word image in the one group of word images, by calculating, at a word clustering system, word feature values for the word features of each of the multiple word images assigned to the one group of word images, and using the word feature values to determine, at the word clustering system, a word image that is representative of the word images in the one group of word images; selecting digitized text for the representative word image; and assigning the selected digitized text to each of the word images in the one group of word images. 11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: calculating a mean of the word feature values of the multiple word images assigned to the one group of word images, wherein the step of selecting a representative word image comprises selecting, as the representative word, a phantom word image that has values equal to the mean.