In
addition to the advantages of the online medium (full text search, hyperlinking,
anytime access, etc.), one feature I appreciate most is how the online
resource preserves the benefits of a microfiche machine --
most notably, the ability to see articles, ads, headlines, and images
in context.
One
downside of many searchable databases these days, is that they diminish
the occurrence
of "happy accidents" -- the kinds of unexpected discoveries that can
alter your thinking or enlighten you as scan the microfilm visually
on a reel. (These same happy accidents that stem from "perusal" abilities
may be in shorter supply due to less flipping through the card catalog,
as well.) This resource includes full visual mock-ups of
the actual paper, with hyperlinked stories. It lends itself perfectly
to perusal, tangents and curiosity seekers. Some great learning
can happen when we are permitted perusal privileges!
| I
contacted two of the key indviduals at Brooklyn
Public Library -- Sue Benz and Joy
Holland -- who helped bring this
resource to the web. Here's
a segment of our conversation (click play button to the right): |
|
More about Joy and Sue:
Joy Holland, Assistant Division Chief
of the Brooklyn Collection served as Project Director and was the main
driving force in the inception of this project. She played the leading
role in the selection of the vendor, the conception of the grant proposal,
hiring of project staff, and in project administration and decision-making.
Sue Benz, Project Coordinator,
currently Project Director and Manager of Digital Library Services
played a leading role in the management of this project. She served
as a liaison to outside vendors and library project staff, oversaw
installation of the repository, software implementation, interface
design, value-added content development, and administrative tasks.
[ Joy and Sue: thank you for taking the time to
share with LearningTimes members more about this excellent primary resource.
]
From the library's web site, here
is a little more about the newspaper:
"Founded in 1841 by Isaac Van Anden and Henry Cruse Murphy, The
Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published as a daily newspaper for 114 consecutive
years without missing a single edition. The newspaper, originally conceived
as a temporary political forum for the 1842 election, ironically lived the
longest and absorbed all other Brooklyn daily papers except the Brooklyn
Citizen. At one point the Eagle actually became the nation's most
widely read afternoon newspaper. Unusual among major metropolitan daily newspapers
of that time period, the Eagle chronicled national and international
affairs as well as local news and daily life in Brooklyn. As a result The
Brooklyn Daily Eagle provides a window into Brooklyn's past, as well
as documentation of national and international events that shaped history."
More about the project from the
library's web site:
"This project was produced by Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn
Collection and funded by the Library and the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime
of learning.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published from 1841
to 1955, then revived for a short time from 1960 to 1963.
Because of the
enormity of the collection, the digitization of the historic Brooklyn
Daily Eagle
newspaper from reels
of microfilm has been broken down into more than one phase. Phase I,
which can at present be found on this site, covers the period from October
26, 1841 to December 31, 1902, representing half of the Eagle's years
of publication. This period includes all of the years for which there
is no index as well as the eleven years during which an index was published.
Approximately 147,000 pages of newspaper in various digital formats are
contained in this online repository. Access can be gained either by date
of issue or by keyword searching." The platform used by the
Brooklyn Public Library to view the newspaper online is a product
called ActivePaper.
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle/index.htm |
