More than a century of Pittsburg history is becoming easier to discover. The Pittsburg Public Library is pleased to introduce a special digitization project that preserves Pittsburg’s past while making local history more accessible—and searchable—for the community.
Earlier this year, the Library received a $10,000 gift from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The funds were designated to support the Library’s mission, benefit the community, or commemorate the nation’s anniversary.
With Pittsburg also celebrating its 150th anniversary, Library staff searched for an opportunity to honor our own community’s history. They began working with Advantage Archives, a company specializing in digitizing microfilm and other local history materials for libraries and museums.
The Library’s microfilm collection includes more than 600 reels of local newspapers, including The Morning Sun and Pittsburg Daily Headlight, dating back to November 1886. These newspapers provide an invaluable record of Pittsburg’s people, businesses, schools, organizations, celebrations, and everyday life.
Until now, accessing this history has required a visit to the Library and, in most cases, an exact date. Because the microfilm is not indexed, searching for an article, obituary, event, or other information without knowing when it appeared can be a time-consuming process.
Digitization changes that.
Using the Carnegie Corporation gift, the Library has digitized the first 50 reels of its newspaper collection through Advantage Archives. The first group of digitized newspapers, dating from 1886-1915, is now searchable online, allowing researchers, families, students, historians, and anyone curious about Pittsburg’s past to explore the collection from anywhere.
The digital archive can be accessed through the Pittsburg Public Library website at PPLonline.org.
Digitizing the Library’s entire newspaper collection will be a significant, multi-year undertaking. The Library plans to pursue additional funding opportunities to continue the project and add more of Pittsburg’s historic newspapers to the online archive.
Digitization also helps preserve these irreplaceable materials. Microfilm can deteriorate or be damaged over time, while digital copies help ensure that the information contained in these historic newspapers remains available for future generations.
The Library Board of Trustees believes this project will be a meaningful gift to the community in celebration of Pittsburg’s 150th anniversary—preserving the stories of the people who built Pittsburg while making those stories easier for everyone to discover.