Library offers newspaper archives in digital format
History is now accessible with the touch of a finger as a result of a long-term project at Irvin L. Young Memorial Library to digitalize all of the Whitewater newspapers the library had on microfilm.
A plethora of interesting things can be found in these files. For example, the grain prices in September of 1855 or how the local township voted in the presidential election of 1860. Those curious as to what happened in Whitewater in 1864, who would like to look for family members in the pages of local newspapers or who need to research an obituary or birth record can now do so easily.
These digitalized archives are keyword searchable online, from the convenience of your home or at the library’s computers. The library recently completed the first 75 rolls of microfilm including the following newspapers:
• The Whitewater Chronicle, June 18 through Dec. 17, 1879;
• The Whitewater Press, Jan. 24, 1924 through Dec. 26, 1935
• The Whitewater Gazette, Nov. 22, 1855 through Sept. 26, 1918, and;
• The Whitewater Register, December 1880 through April 1976.
Though Christmas has passed, the entire holiday season, including the start of a new year is a great time to look at family history, see how the holidays were celebrated in Whitewater in 1860 or browse the classified ads to see the popular gifts of old.
Also of interest to many will be the poetry and short stories, or the snowfall accounts and snow ordinances (Whitewater Register, Dec. 9, 1864, page 3).
All of these archives can be accessed online at www.whitewaterlibrary.org. Click on the Digital Newspaper icon on the left-hand side and then search using keywords or names or click on the newspaper issue of choice and read entire issues. Printing archives is also an option.
Digitalizing the microfilm archives at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library is a three-year project. The next 75 rolls will be sent for scanning in January 2014 and the final third in 2015.
“Digitizing the microfilm collection will vastly increase the usability and value of the collection to Whitewater residents and former residents who wish to access their history in the Whitewater area,” Irvin L. Young Memorial Library Director Stacey Lunsford said. The total cost of the project will be $21,000.
For more information visit the library, 431 W. Center St., Whitewater, online at www.whitewaterlibrary.org or call (262) 473-0530.
