Today the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library introduces its new website. The website is still a work in progress, so please contact us with any feedback or complaints: hpnl@library.illinois.edu .
Category: Announcements
Philip Roth’s Israel Readers: Debating Jewish Continuity
Come to the Jewish Studies Workshop and listen to scholar David Hadar discuss Philip Roth’s Israeli Readers: Debating Jewish Continuity.
When: Tuesday, January 17th at 12: 30
Where: English Building, Room 109
HPNL’s New Head Speaks with Scott Beatty on WDWS News Hour
Our new unit head, Celestina Savonius-Wroth, sat down with Scott Beatty on the WDWS News Hour to talk about history and newspapers and why someone might want to visit the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library: go.illinois.edu/csw. No longer available.
The Old Soldier Digitized
Now available online: every issue, reproduced in full color, of the Old Soldier, an 1840 Springfield campaign newspaper that promoted William Henry Harrison’s successful run for president. The Old Soldier is notable among campaign newspapers for the fact that it was co-edited by Abraham Lincoln.
Ralph T. Fisher (1920-2015)
Ralph T. Fisher, 94, historian of modern Russia and the founder of the Russian and East European Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, passed away on April 4th, 2015. Professor Fisher was instrumental in developing world class research library in the Russian and East European field at the University of Illinois Library. The annual conference, Ralph and Ruth Fisher Forum, organized thanks to his generous support, attracts scholars from all over the world to debate topics relating to Russian and East European history.
Spring 2015 Course: Researching the African American Experience
Explore and learn about new digital resources in the Library that support the field of African American studies. Learn also about historical personalities and precedents for the development of such products. AFRO 102 will focus on research and documentation of the African American experience. The course examines significant repositories of African American culture in public libraries, historically black colleges, and predominantly white universities. The course also acknowledged the associations of influential bibliophiles (book collectors) and their contributions in establishing unique and rare collections of African American literature and history. These bibliophiles were pivotal in establishing major Black heritage collections at Howard University, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, Atlanta University, and Fisk University, to name a few. Although primarily about African American life and culture, the personal libraries of black bibliophiles included material about Africa and the African Diaspora.
New Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library introduces the new Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection, powered by Veridian. The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection combines 1.2 million pages of digitized newspapers in one freely accessible location. Using Veridian Digital Library software, the IDNC offers a modern and user-friendly way to access unique research tools and engage with the past. The site includes interactive features allowing users to tag articles, correct OCR text, and share on social media. A text correction contest will be announced next month.
Library Acquires Last Extant Copies of 8 Illinois Newspapers
The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library has acquired, through a gift from the Swearingen Memorial Library in Saint Joseph, Illinois, the final, extant copies of 8 local newspapers: the St. Joseph Record, the Olive and Gold, the Ogden Courier, Oakwood Township News, the Homer Herald, the Homer Enterprise, the Homer Chamilion, and the Fairmount Star. The Olive and Gold was the student newspaper of Saint Joseph Community High School.
Press Release:
The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library at Illinois has recently acquired The St. Joseph Record from the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library. The print run of this newspaper includes 96 bound volumes from 1894 to 1980.
This fall, Susan McKinney, librarian and director at the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, inquired with the University Library about transferring the newspapers to the University to better preserve them and to maximize their availability. Considering its importance for local Illinois history, the University Library responded quickly and proposed to house the collection.
“On behalf of the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, I’m excited that the University of Illinois has taken ownership of these important newspapers of historical value and that they will permanently reside in a climate-controlled environment,” said McKinney.
Like almost all newspapers of its era, The St. Joseph Record was printed on inexpensive, mass-produced, wood-pulp paper. Its chemical properties cause it to become increasingly acidic and to deteriorate as it ages, especially under conditions which, because they are most conducive to human comfort, are typically found in libraries.
“Although it is impossible to reverse the deterioration of paper, we can slow that process by controlling the conditions in which the paper is stored,” said Marek Sroka, newspaper librarian at Illinois. “The St. Joseph Record will be housed in a state-of-the-art storage facility specifically designed for the long-term preservation of paper-based documents (minimal exposure to ultraviolet- and infrared-emitting light, a stable temperature of about 50° Fahrenheit, and a stable relative humidity of about 30%).
To access issues of The St. Joseph Record, make arrangements with History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library staff by calling (217) 333-1509 or emailing hpnl@library.illinois.edu.
New Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection
The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library introduces the new Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection, powered by Veridian. The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection combines 1.2 million pages of digitized newspapers in one freely accessible location. Using Veridian Digital Library software, the IDNP offers a modern and user-friendly way to access unique research tools and engage with the past.
The site includes interactive features allowing users to tag articles, correct OCR text, and share on social media. A text correction contest will be announced next month.
Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Collection
Over 60 newspapers that document a key moment in the history of American westward expansion: the forced allotment of Indian tribal lands in Indian Territory, the abolition of tribal governments, the opening of unreserved lands for American settlement, and the transition of Indian Territory to Oklahoma Territory and then statehood. Many of the collection’s newspapers appear here in digitized form for the first time ever.