<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Internet Happenings, Events and Sources


Sunday, February 13, 2005  

Historical Collections Go Digital
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050125/ap_on_hi_te/dusty_to_digital_8

Historical collections gathering dust across the country are finding new life on the Web, as institutions turn to digital imaging to both preserve and make accessible their treasures. "Our future depends on us being able to turn our collections inside out -- to show people what we have," says Wisconsin Historical Society archivist Michael Edmonds. The Wisconsin institution has been digitizing rare books and letters for the last five years, and has created a site called American Journeys, which details eyewitness accounts of early pioneer exploration. The result has been impressive -- while the bricks-and-mortar Historical Society receives about 50,000 visitors annually, its Web site plays host to 85,000 unique online visitors each year. Archivists across the country are seeing similar results. The Duke University Libraries Web site includes sheet music from the 1800s and an extensive collection of Egyptian hieroglyphics, while the National Archives site features the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation. And while most historical documents still exist in their original format only, some archivists envision a day when online researchers will be able to request that documents be "scanned on demand," perhaps for a fee.

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:15 AM
archives
subject tracers™