(Taken from the Downriver Genealogical Society website -- proudly supported by DownriverThings.com)
The Downriver Genealogical Society, in its continuing efforts to support our community, has developed a program to support the direct scanning of 60 years of newspapers from Wayne County, Michigan and surrounding areas. This “Newspaper Digitizing Project” is a long-term effort to preserve the local history, customs, and traditions that have made the downriver area what it is today. Heritage Media Group, publishers of downriver papers for 21 communities, has chosen us, the Downriver Genealogical Society, to preserve the history of our area. This honor is a testament to our 33-year history of preserving the past for future generations. In January of 2013, we became the custodians of their collection of newspapers from 1943 – 2003, currently in a storage facility. Our objective is to scan each and every page, convert it into a searchable format and provide access via the internet free to everyone. While this may seem an ambitious project, we are confident with some help from our supporters we will succeed! |
Project summation:Bacon Memorial District Library has nearly 133 years of Wyandotte newspapers on rolls of microfilm beginning in 1880 to the present day. This wealth of information is accessible to the public by using our microfilm reader/printers, however searching can be time consuming and requires a visit to the library.
We are excited to announce a new initiative to digitize these rolls of microfilm and make them available online, for free, to anyone with an internet connection. Additionally, the newspapers will be keyword searchable, enabling users to find all mentions of a particular name or term with one simple search. The value of making these newspapers available online is monumental. Historic newspapers offer an abundance of data about civic, political, cultural and social events of the period they document. Not only will residents be able to access obituaries of their ancestors, researchers be able to trace small town political developments, curious students be able to travel back in time, but Wyandotte and the surrounding Downriver community’s profile will be raised throughout the world. Opportunities to link to depositories of information such as the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America Project abound. |