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!
As part of the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project, the Middlebury Register, one of Vermont’s longest running weekly newspapers, became available on Chronicling America in 2012. The Middlebury Register started publication in 1836 and eventually ceased publication in the 1940s. Between 1836 and 1950, it changed names 6 times.