Digitization Projects: Connecticut State Library Seeks To Digitize World War I History

From the Hartford Courant:

Beginning later this month, state library officials will hold a series of community events at which local residents are urged to bring in family letters, photographs, diaries, recorded stories and other objects from the World War I period.
Those materials will be processed and digitally scanned on site by volunteers. They will then be archived and added to the Connecticut Digital Archive, where they will become available to the public. The digitalization project kicks off what will be an ongoing role for the State Library leading up to the centennial of the entry of the U.S. into the war in April 1917.
That role is appropriate, given the history of the institution. Through the efforts of State Librarian George S. Godard, who served from 1900 to 1936, the library became the central repository for the voluminous state and local records generated during the WWI period.
Up until now no one has gotten a handle on how large our collections are. We want to be able to say, here are all the places to look and here are all the tools to help you look,” said Christine Pittsley, who is managing the digitalization project, “Remembering World War One: Sharing History, Preserving Memories.”
In conjunction with the project, a new website, http://www.CTinWorldWar1.org, launched this fall that provides a platform for sharing historical material from local libraries and institutions about Connecticut wartime experience at home and abroad: “We’ll empower local organizations and schools to hold community events by creating tool kits and curriculum centered on personal sharing, archiving and collection of digital contributions of WWI stories, photos and memorabilia,” according to the website.

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On a Related Note, Some Other World War I Resources We’ve Shared on infoDOCKET

The International Encyclopedia of the First World War is Now Available Online
It’s an open access resource.
Red Cross Digitizes 5 Million First World War Prisoner Files
Oxford University Press Releases Who’s Who in the Outbreak of First World War Political Map/Infographic
National Archive (UK) Launches First World War Portal
German Government Puts 700,000 WWI Docs Online

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Libraries, News, Open Access