All posts by VTDNP

Reflections on the NDNP Annual Meeting

It was a busy week in Washington for Erenst and me at the ninth annual meeting of the National Digital Newspaper Program, September 15-18. The long days of meetings, discussions, and presentations seemed to fly by as we learned about what other state projects are doing and what’s new with our sponsors, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.

My week started early on Monday with a “Beyond NDNP” pre-conference at the Willard Hotel. Attended by about fifty current and former (alumni) state project staffers from around the country, this day-and-a-half gathering was funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Its purpose was to see whether those who are digitizing newspapers outside of NDNP could agree on standards and protocols, as well as explore strategies for preservation and sustainability. There was a lively discussion of standards, page vs. article-level access, costs, and funding sources. Tuesday morning’s session (which Erenst attended) focused on sustainability. I learned a great deal and will attempt to share some of that knowledge in a future post. Meanwhile, Eden Robins from the Arizona project also wrote a blog post on “Beyond NDNP’ and more, with group photo!

Photo: Erenst & Jeff posed in front of the Madison Building after Day 2 of National Digital Newspaper Program Annual Conference. More photos and coverage coming soon!
Photo: Erenst & Jeff in front of the Madison Building after Day 2 of National Digital Newspaper Program Annual Conference.

Continue reading Reflections on the NDNP Annual Meeting

Who designed the Wilbur Library at Vermont Academy?

wilbur_library_vtacad003Last week, a researcher working in Special Collections at the
University of Vermont asked for help identifying the architect who designed the beautiful stone library at Vermont Academy in Saxton’s River, Vermont. We turned to Chronicling America, hoping that a Vermont newspaper had announced the proposed project or
celebrated its completion. Continue reading Who designed the Wilbur Library at Vermont Academy?

Researching historic buildings on Chronicling America

om fisher search
A detailed account of a local businessman’s new home in Montpelier, Vermont, on State Street. This was found by using the advanced search of keywords with any of the words “state” and “street” and the phrase “O.M. Fisher.” I did not limit the years, but did limit results to the state of Vermont.

Historic newspapers on Chronicling America hold an abundance of information regarding local and national news and cultural trends of the past. Newspapers are also particularly helpful in uncovering the history of the built landscape of our communities. Continue reading Researching historic buildings on Chronicling America

VTDNP Celebrates Completion of Phase 2

Today, August 29, 2014, marks the last working day of VTDNP Phase 2. Vermont now have 243,952 pages digitized and made available online on Chronicling America. We have approximately 10,000 more pages under review before being added to the website. We will be in Phase 3 starting next work day (September 2, 2014) and working towards digitizing another 100,000 pages of Vermont historic newspapers. Last but not least, we would like to thank everyone involved so far for their support and energy. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

VTDNP phase 2 last day
Celebrating the completion of ‪#‎VTDNP‬ phase 2 with some sparkling cider while getting bookmarks & more mastheads printed. We’ll be doing more outreach in Phase 3. Be on the lookout or contact us for more info!