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Digitizing History

July 16, 2019 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Free

The Margaret Chase Smith Library and Skowhegan History House will host an evening program by the Maine State Library on digitization activities that are helping provide new access to historical resources of local interest. The event will be held on July 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Margaret Chase Smith Library at 56 Norridgewock Road, Skowhegan.

Adam Fisher, director of collections development and digital initiatives at the Maine State Library will talk about the library’s efforts to digitize Maine newspapers, books, records, maps and manuscripts and make the content searchable online.  Skowhegan resident, Gretchen Clark, is working with the library on a project that will eventually make historical Skowhegan newspapers accessible online.

Clark recently digitized a volume of 1917 Independent Reporter newspapers that was acquired by the Skowhegan History House last year as part of a larger collection of newspapers that were discovered in an attic in Norway, Maine.

“The newspapers provide an interesting account of the events leading up to the historic 1917 election on a constitutional amendment to allow women the right to vote,” said Clark.

Fisher and Clark will talk about information found in those newspapers and recently digitized petitions from Skowhegan suffragettes.

“Digitization is an important tool for those who want to have a better understanding of the past,” Fisher said.  “When we make historical collections accessible online, the content is fully searchable – even the most buried mentions of a person, place or historical event in a stack of newspapers can easily be discovered when a collection is made available in digital form.”

Since 2013, the Maine State Library has partnered with organizations around Maine to digitize collections and make history available through the DigitalMaine Repository online at www.digitalmaine.com.

Details

Date:
July 16, 2019
Time:
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Cost:
Free
Event Categories:
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Website:
http://skowheganhistoryhouse.org/event/suffragettes-heres-to-skowhegans-trouble-makers/

Organizer

Skowhegan History House
Phone:
2074746632
Email:
kimwilson@skowheganhistoryhouse.org
Website:
66 Elm Street

Venue

Margaret Chase Smith Library
56 Norridgewock Ave
Skowhegan, ME 04976 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
(207) 474-7133
Website:
http://www.mcslibrary.org/