Tag: illinois history

The Newspaper and Its Disjecta Membra

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

 

“If scrapbooks can be distilled to one overarching interpretive theme, it is that of rupture.”

“What could be more emblematic of the fractured narratives of modernity than scrapbooks?”

“[An] excess of fragments that burst the bindings and bulge the pages.”

“How then do we read these fragments as cultural artifacts?”1

Newspaper clippings were frequently pasted into scrapbooks, and sometimes, as in the case of the scrapbook shown here, compose the entirety of the scrapbook’s contents: Continue reading “The Newspaper and Its Disjecta Membra” →

The Old Soldier Digitized

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

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.


Go to the Digitized Old Soldier now.

New Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

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.


The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection is available online at idnc.library.illinois.edu

Library Acquires Last Extant Copies of 8 Illinois Newspapers

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

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

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

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.


The Illinois Digital Newspaper Project is available online at http://idnc.library.illinois.edu

Introducing the Digital Urbana Daily Courier 1916-1925

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library is pleased to announce the launching of the digitized version of the Urbana Daily Courier for the years 1916-1925.  This project was funded by a grant from the Illinois State Library under the Library Services and Technology Act, with additional support from the Clifford Family Endowment. Click image at right to open a printable pdf.

 

Digital Urbana Courier Poster
Flier for the Digital Urbana Daily Courier Launch Event

Perhaps more than any other original source document, historic newspapers provide a window onto our past.  No other primary source conveys as readily and vividly the sensibility of an era and the feel of a place.  Published from 1897 through March 1979 under a succession of titles, the Urbana Daily Courier provides rich documentation of the development of commerce and industry, the course of local and regional politics, and the history of cultural and social life in our community, as well as the local experience of global events.

 

 

The decade from 1916 to 1925 spans a number of pivotal events in world history as well as key developments in local and regional history.  At the international level, these years saw the entry of the U.S. into World War I, the Russian Revolutions of 1917, and the flu pandemic.  Nationally this decade encompasses the Scopes trial, the East St. Louis riots of 1917, the founding of the Ku Klux Klan, prohibition, the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting female suffrage, and the postwar recovery and rapid rise of science, technology and industry.

 

Snapshot from Digital Urbana Courier Release Party
Snapshot from Digital Urbana Courier Release Party

The digital Courier offers extensive documentation of the impact of these events on the lives of ordinary residents of East Central Illinois.  Through this project, this rich primary source material is freely available to anyone, anywhere with access to the internet.  The issues are presented as cover-to-cover digital facsimiles, completely browsable and keyword searchable, with full downloading and e-mailing functionality.

 

Thanks to the Urbana Free Library and the Champaign County Historical Archives, we launched the digital Courier on Saturday, July 28 2007 with a public presentation at the Auditorium of the Urbana Free Library from 10 a.m. to noon.    We demonstrated use of the database, discussed our ongoing work and future digitization plans, and shared information about other historic newspaper digitization projects.  Attending the event were many former Courier employees (pictured on left), who enjoyed sharing stories about their experiences working at the Courier.

Access the Digital Urbana Daily Courier | View the Presentation Slides [Slides No Longer Available]