Author: Mandy Mastrovita

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Digital Library of Georgia Hits 1 Million Newspaper Pages

October 23, 2017

WRITER: Jean Cleveland, jclevela@uga.edu, 706-542-8079

CONTACT: Sheila McAlister, mcalists@uga.edu, 706-542-5418

Digital Library Hits 1 Million Newspaper Pages

ATHENS, Ga — The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is celebrating its 1 millionth digitized historic newspaper page. The premier issue of the Georgia Gazette, Georgia’s first newspaper, published from 1763-1776 in Savannah, will become the 1 millionth page of historic newspapers to be made freely available online through the Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN): https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn83016182/1763-04-07/ed-1/seq-1/. James Johnston, the first printer in Georgia, published the state’s first newspaper issue on April 7, 1763.

Public libraries around the state are being provided with printed materials, including  bookmarks, rack cards, and temporary tattoos, as well as a freely downloadable digital press kit to encourage local celebrations of the milestone.

The online press kit, available at https://sites.google.com/view/ghn-presskits,  will include:

  • A curriculum guide for educational/ library programming with GHN;
  • A PowerPoint slide deck template for creating presentations on how to use the GHN web site;
  • A DLG “Quick Facts” document with information about the DLG, its public library partners, communication channels, and our historic newspaper milestones;
  • A selection of prepared GHN-related posts that can be shared on social media; and
  • A Millionth Page badge graphic to share within posts on social media

The DLG will promote its millionth page with weekly social media posts that feature items from our digitized newspapers, and will conduct a contest with Facebook users who share our millionth page social media posts and tag us. Two winners will be drawn at random, and awarded a copy of UGA Press’ book For Free Press and Equal Rights by Richard H. Abbott.

Sheila McAlister, director of the DLG, remarks: “Making Georgia’s first newspaper freely available online is the perfect way for us to celebrate this important milestone. Historic newspapers reflect the social and cultural values of the time that they were created and are invaluable to scholars and the general public. With the help of our partners, we will continue add more of this sought-after content.”

Since 2007, the DLG has been providing access to the state’s historic newspapers through multiple online city and regional newspaper archives. With the launch of the GHN in July 2017, the DLG continues that tradition by bringing together new and existing resources into a single, consolidated website.

The GHN includes some of the state’s earliest newspapers; important African-American, Roman Catholic, and Cherokee newspapers; and issues from Atlanta, Augusta, Butler, Columbus, Dublin, Fayetteville, Houston county, Louisville, Sandersville, Thomson, Walker county, Waycross, and Waynesboro. All previously digitized newspapers are scheduled to be incorporated into the new GHN platform. Until that time, users may continue to access the existing regional and city sites (North, South, West Georgia, Athens, Macon, and Savannah). Historic newspaper pages are consistently the most visited of any DLG sites, and the GHN provides newspaper issues that are full-text searchable and able to be browsed by date and title.

Most recently, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the Digital Library of Georgia a National Digital Newspaper Program grant to digitize 100,000 additional pages of Georgia historic newspapers over the next two years. Annually, DLG digitizes over 100,000 historic newspaper pages with funding from GALILEO, Georgia Public Library Service, and its partners and microfilms more than 200 current newspapers.

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources.  DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.

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Press Release: New Grant Program Seeks to Increase Digital Participation

September 1, 2017

New Grant Program Seeks to Increase Digital Participation

ATHENS, Ga — The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, the Johnny Mize Collection at Piedmont College, and town films and home movies at the University of Georgia media archives are among nine Competitive Digitization grants awarded through a new program with the Digital Library of Georgia.

“The projects selected for DLG’s inaugural subgranting program represent the diverse history of the state. Our partners for these projects also reflect the wealth of cultural heritage organizations in the state” said Sheila McAlister, director of the Digital Library of Georgia.
These are the first grants awarded in the program intended to broaden partner participation in the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG). The DLG solicited proposals for historic digitization projects in a statewide call, and applicants submitted proposals for projects with a cost of up to $5,000. The projects will be administered by DLG staff who will perform digitization and descriptive services on textual (not including newspapers), graphic, and audio-visual materials.
Preference in the selection process was given to proposals from institutions that had not yet collaborated with the DLG. The Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace and Piedmont College Library are new partners for the DLG.

The nine recipients and their projects include:

  • Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace (Savannah) – Digitization and description of Juliette Gordon Low Correspondence, Series India Letters. Juliette Gordon Low traveled in northern India in 1908 and wrote letters to her family describing her experiences and impressions.
  • City of Savannah, Research Library & Municipal Archives – Digitization and description of Record Series 3121-019, Savannah Cadastral Survey – Ward Survey Maps, 1939-1940 (Ward Survey Maps were prepared by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as part of a survey project); Record Series 3121-020, Engineering Department – Major Subdivision Maps, 1871-1972, no date (Major Subdivision Maps include maps of Savannah neighborhoods and subdivisions prepared by surveyors and engineers submitted to the City of Savannah Engineering Department); Record Series 3121-007, Engineering Department – General Maps, 1798-1961, no date (maps illustrating property holdings, land subdivision, and private development in Savannah from the 18th-20th centuries).
  • Atlanta History Center – Digitization of recordings of the radio program Southwind: The New Sounds of the Old Confederacy, which aired on WABE in Atlanta between Nov. 14, 1980 and Jan. 29, 1987.
  • Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections – Digitization of the Pinebranch, the first student publication of South Georgia State Normal College and Georgia State Woman’s College (both earlier names for Valdosta State University).
  • Piedmont College Library (Demorest, Ga.) – Description of the May Ivie Valise Collection (a case full of historical materials belonging to Piedmont College alumna May Ivie), Johnny Mize Collection (fan letters and photographs belonging to professional baseball player and Demorest, Georgia native Johnny Mize).
  • Columbus State University Archives – Digitization and description of the Civil War era material of General Henry Benning, a prominent Confederate general and Georgia Supreme Court justice for whom Fort Benning was named.
  • Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection (Athens, Ga.) – Enhanced description of Georgia town films and home movies digitized by the Brown Media Archives.
  • Berry College (Mount Berry, Ga.) – Digitization of January 1907 to Winter 1942-1943 issues of the Southern Highlander, the official magazine of the Berry Schools.
  • Athens-Clarke County Library (Athens, Ga.) – Digitization and description of Image magazine, a publication that documented the everyday lives of the African American citizens of Athens, from 1977-1980.

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources.

WRITER: Mandy Mastrovita, mastrovi@uga.edu, 706.583.0209
CONTACT: Sheila McAlister, mcalists@uga.edu, 706.542.5418

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