Impact Stories – Page 12

A goldmine has been excavated here in Athens—not the orange metal that decorates the lairs of the incredibly rich and presidential, trust me, but the rich loam of irreplaceable local history. Thanks to the efforts of UGA’s Digital Library of Georgia project and the hard work of the Athens-Clarke County Library staff, 25 years of Flagpole’s lost archives have been recovered and made available to everybody for free.

Cover of the inaugural issue of Flagpole, "Colorbearer of Athens Alternative Music," October 1, 1987. — Cover of the inaugural issue of Flagpole, “Colorbearer of Athens Alternative Music,” October 1, 1987.

We all tend to believe, in spite of our own crashes and losses, that digital is forever, that the digits will remain long after the printed paper has crumbled. Ha. Dream on. In the late ‘90s, while backing up our main computer, our resident technical expert (to remain nameless here) lost the first decade of Flagpole issues. Wiped out. Gone. The UGA library had microfilm, and we had paper copies, but there was no database online and no searchable files anywhere, except thumbing through back issues, looking for something.

Then, around 10 years later, it happened again. Our homemade website turned out to have inadequate protection and got hacked (the Russians?). We had to take it down, and along with it went the archives we had built up since the last catastrophe. Flagpole was lobotomized.

Since that time we have hired various programmers and companies who promised to reestablish our archives, but nobody has been able to deliver—nobody, that is, until the Digital Library of Georgia, hand-in-hand with the Athens-Clarke County Library, swooped in like Superman and Wonder Woman to restore Flagpole’s memory banks.

The library’s Heritage Room staff, with their stalwart interns using a high-speed copier, went through each issue of Flagpole page-by-page and shot digital images from their microfilm. When that laborious part of the project was finally completed, the Digital Library of Georgia over at the UGA libraries, created the searchable database and put it online.

Meanwhile, our own online archives have been rebuilt back through 2013 and are searchable issue by issue on our website, sort of.

You can search the whole Digital Library Flagpole site from 1987 through 2012. Type in R.E.M. and immediately get 181 articles … What fun! You can watch as Flagpole progresses through the years from a harum-scarum, slapped-together weekly music rag into a finely-tuned, professionally produced, seriously written harum-scarum weekly music rag.

This database is of inestimable value to people wanting to write about Athens, to explore local history, or to relive their youth. It’s all here, a rabbit hole just waiting for you to go down it. Research your favorite band. See what bad stuff we wrote about local politicians. Delve into the history, the music, the people who have made the news during the 25 years from 1987 to 2012 and more recently in our own archives. Flagpole has been at the center of our community life for the last 30 years, and now, thanks to the Digital Library of Georgia, we can all remember where we’ve been.

—Pete McCommons, editor, Flagpole magazine, January 17, 2018, http://flagpole.com/news/pub-notes/2018/01/17/the-digital-library-of-georgia-uploads-flagpole-s-archives. Reprinted with permission.

Why digitize newspapers? I work at the Houston County Public Library and recall two instances specifically that impressed upon me the importance and usefulness of digitization.

Through grants and donations from Flint Energies and the estate of Alice L. Gilbert, the Houston County Public Library System partnered with the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) to digitize our local newspaper, the Houston Home Journal.

Not long ago, we had received notice from the DLG that they had successfully completed the project and that it was accessible through the Georgia Historic Newspapers site located in GALILEO. The information was no sooner relayed to me than I got to take my first spin on the newly digitized information. A gentleman walked in and wanted the newspaper information on “the unknown man who was buried in Perry in his underwear.” Yes, that’s correct. A man was buried in his underwear in Perry, Georgia; an article was written about it, and this patron expected me to find it.

Scan of a newspaper article titled: Man buried in his underwear: Tombstone mystery solved, Houston Home Journal. (Perry, Houston County, Ga.) 1924-1994, April 20, 1972, page 1-B. — Houston Home Journal. (Perry, Houston County, Ga.) 1924-1994, April 20, 1972, page 1-B.

I was stymied. Then I remembered that our newly digitized newspaper was word indexed. I logged in, typed in the common, everyday keywords of “man”, “buried”, and “underwear”…and magic happened! It pulled right up. Hallelujah, I was saved! I printed the article, handed it to the gentleman, and looked smug. The patron went home impressed with how easy the digitized newspaper was to search and navigate–and also knowing that it was just a keystroke away. I was able with little time and effort to be an awesome librarian.

The second occurrence did not even take place in the library. I was at a local function wearing my “library hat” and was engaged in the usual “What do you do?” conversation at my table. A lady said she was thankful we had made the old newspaper articles available online. She told me she had had a very athletic and talented brother that had been making a name for himself in school sports. Over the years, their mother had made a scrapbook of all the newspaper clippings with his name mentioned or interviews given. Unfortunately, his was an untimely death. In the chaos that followed, the scrapbook was lost.

When our local newspaper was digitized and made available, this lady searched her brother’s name, and printed out and put together a new scrapbook containing all the news clippings about her brother. She then gave it to her mother. Because we had digitized our newspapers, she was able to replace what was lost.

These are just two instances, both very different in their use, that the digitization of the Houston Home Journal by the Digital Library of Georgia, was indispensable. Though there are more, these examples are the most memorable. I would encourage other libraries, if they are considering digitizing, to go ahead. It is financially daunting for sure, but when looking at serving the community or long-term benefits, it makes so much sense. Good luck!

—Judith Malone, Perry Branch Manager of the Houston County Public Library.

Category: Impact Stories

Unique Partnership Captures Athens’ Music and Art Scene from the 1980s Onwards

Tombstone Mystery Solved and Family Keepsake Revived