We are pleased to announce new collections with lots of new content from the City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives.
These new collections include:
- the Benjamin Van Clark Neighborhood Documentation Project (Oral histories related to the Benjamin Van Clark Neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia focusing on mass transportation and the development of streetcar suburbs; desegregation and its changing population; and the revitalization and rehabilitation of the community).
- the Eastside Documentation Project (Oral histories related to five eastside Savannah neighborhoods, East Savannah, Hillcrest, Pine Gardens, Savannah Gardens, and Twickenham).
- the Ellis Square Oral History Project (Oral histories related to the development of Savannah’s Ellis Square).
- the Westside Documentation Project (Oral histories of three predominantly African American Savannah neighborhoods, Hudson Hill, West Savannah, and Woodville).
- Savannah Development and Renewal Authority (SRDA)– West Broad Street Appraisals (Appraisals of West Broad Street parcels from 1958 and 1961 in preparation for the construction of U.S. Interstate-16 into Savannah).
- City of Savannah, Georgia Records – Mayor’s Office (Records of the mayor of Savannah from the period of 1869 through 1904 and speeches of the mayor dating from 1960 to 1966).
Luciana Spracher, the library and archives director for the City of Savannah, Research Library and Municipal Archives, comments on the breadth of resources available: “For a municipal government, we have a very robust archival program, probably very fitting for a city of Savannah’s historical nature, and I think a lot of people will generally be surprised by how much we have, whether it is records on individuals, businesses, properties, or government growth and activities, in general.”
She adds: “We are particularly excited to share the oral history collections digitally. Prior to this we did not have a good way to allow individuals to listen to the audio recordings and I think this new access will increase their use and appreciation. I am also excited that we are sharing twentieth century collections and history with our citizens and users. We have previously had a strong focus on nineteenth century records, but we are increasingly seeing where we need to start addressing gaps in our twentieth century records, and researchers are increasingly interested in studying twentieth century events and issues.
Now that these collections are available in the Digital Library of Georgia and the Digital Public Library of America, Spracher is eager to reach new researchers: “Our greatest hope for our collections through DLG and DPLA is that this will increase access and awareness. We hope that new audiences will be introduced to them that may never have considered the City of Savannah as a source on certain topics. I’m always excited when our records are used in ways that we never could have anticipated or hoped for.”
We hope that you take the time to explore these new collections, and learn more about how the twentieth century has shaped Savannah’s modern history.
