Do you know of a historic Illinois newspaper that you think should be digitized and made freely available online? The Illinois Newspaper Project is pleased to announce a proposal-based process for selecting Illinois newspapers for digitization, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Selected titles will receive long-term digital preservation and will be made freely and openly available for research.
From July 1-September 30, 2023, Illinois libraries, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage institutions or individuals can nominate historic newspapers for digitization and inclusion in the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections and Chronicling America, the National Digital Newspaper Project’s online collection hosted by the Library of Congress.
We are particularly eager to receive nominations of historic newspapers published in Illinois counties not yet represented in the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections as well as newspapers from underrepresented creators or with unique subject matter or intended audience. Content might contribute to the study of agricultural, industrial, cultural, economic, or political histories of the state. With your participation, we hope to make even more digitized Illinois newspapers available for genealogists, local and public historians, educators, and everyone interested in the history of the state to use for their research, instruction, or community or institutional programming.
It’s not too early to start digging through your newspaper collections! Illinois institutions are encouraged to involve their patrons in the selection process, and individuals should encourage their local institutions to participate in this exciting opportunity. Please keep an eye out for future updates, nomination criteria, and the official call for proposals. If you have any initial questions or inquiries, feel free to reach out to the Illinois Newspaper Project at inp@library.illinois.edu. Phone calls may be directed to Jessie Knoles, Newspaper Content Coordinator, at 217-244-9085.