ICPL Unveils Digital History Project


The Iowa City Public Library is pleased to announce the launch of the Digital History Project, a web-based archive highlighting historic Iowa City and Johnson County, this Thursday evening, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A at the Library. The public is welcome to attend to learn about the archive, as well as celebrate Irving Weber Days with Weber’s favorite treat, ice cream. Carnegie Library

Featuring a growing collection of more than 300 photos and videos, the Digital History Project showcases significant moments in Iowa City’s past. Highlights from the collection include photos from the Iowa City Centennial Parade in 1939 and the 1970s urban renewal phase that razed buildings and made way for the Ped Mall, plus a video from the 1930s commissioned by a local group advocating for the construction of a high school, now City High.

Iowa City and Johnson County have a wealth of libraries, archives, and historical societies, many with their own local history collections. But while these groups have unique collections of photographs, films, and slides, they often lack the necessary resources to digitize them.  And that’s where the Library comes in. Combining the Library’s goal to enrich, inform, and entertain, with the objective to provide access to materials in diverse formats, and tech-savvy staff, the Library’s mission is clear: to expand access to local history materials by digitizing them and making them available online at history.icpl.org.

JCHS-821029 In the Project’s early stages of development, staff at the Iowa City Public Library partnered with two local organizations: The Johnson County Historical Society (JCHS) and the Iowa City Host Noon Lions Club. The JCHS provided a wide-range of materials from their own collection and the Lions Club donated a generous monetary gift the Library used to purchase a high resolution flatbed scanner. Without the help from our partners, the Digital History Project would not be launching this Thursday night. Thank you to the JCHS and the Lions Club!

Be sure to check back for announcements on upcoming scanning days, when members of the community will be invited to digitize their own materials. For more information, please email Candice Smith at Candice-Smith@icpl.org

Digital History Project Launch

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: Meeting Room A

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