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Read All About Advantage Archives

At Advantage Archives we work hard to build strong, community-based partnerships to provide free online access to local history, making it discoverable and easily accessible to anyone, anywhere, at any time, on any device. This access allows communities to understand and connect to their past in a meaningful way.

Through these partnerships, we provide the community the means to explore, discover, learn from, connect with, and share the stories of the people, places, and events that shaped their community.

The Community History Archives are intended to serve as a “portal to the past”, allowing local primary source documents to give an accounting of history as told by the individuals that witnessed it.

This Week in History- December 9th through December 15th

Our first gift idea comes from The New Castle Weekly, in New Castle, Delaware, published on December 11th, 2002. They shared a couple of different gift ideas, but the one that stood out the most to me was these chocolate and cappuccino jars. They are a dry mix that can be used to make either […]

This Week in History- November 25 through December 1st

I thought it would be useful to start with a recent piece that gives us a lay of the land of Black Friday shopping. On November 24th, 2015, the Quincy Herald-Whig published an article titled “SCORE BIG SAVINGS; 9 TIPS TO HELP YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING POWER”. This article gives an in-depth list […]

This Week in History- November 18 through November 24

For all these events, I utilized the new directory page on our website. There, you can zoom in on the map to search for Community History Archives in that area. I did this in different areas of the state to find different CHAs to search in. Each archive is listed on the side with the […]

This Week in History- November 11 through November 17

The method I used to find these events is also my search tip of the week. In the past, we have covered a lot of ways to narrow down specific results. Did you know that there is also a way to look at specific papers without having to search for keywords or phrases? It is […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History November 4th-10th

Barack Obama made history, as do all presidents, but specifically because he was the first African American president. Before he was elected to the presidency, he had a political career in both the state and US Senate. In 1996, Obama was elected to his first term in the Illinois State Senate, where he was re-elected […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History October 28th – November 3rd

The Twin Towers were some of the most recognizable buildings in the World Trade Center Complex as well as the New York City Skyline, before they tragically became the target of a terrorist attack in 2001. They were an iconic feature of New York City and featured in various media forms, including television shows and […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History October 21st – 27th

The mid-20th century was crucial to the fight for equality in America. The civil rights movement lasted from 1954 to 1968 and had an incredible impact on the history of the United States. Some of the most notable figures from the civil rights movement include Martin Luther King Jr, A. Phillip Randolph, Ida B. Wells, […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History October 14th – October 21st

The Kardashians are one of the most famous families in pop culture. Their reality TV journey began 14 years ago. On October 14th, 2007, the first episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” aired on television, marking the start of a hugely popular television series. Producer Ryan Seacrest noticed the attention the family was receiving […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History October 7th – October 13th

Bob Dylan is largely considered to be one of the greatest musicians and songwriters of all time. In the 1960s, Dylan moved to New York City and spent his life writing and performing music. His music, including top hits like “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, is a unique mix of folk, […]

Weathering The Storm – Protection & Recovery Of Local History Collections

In the face of extreme weather events due to climate change, many of our partners have faced natural disasters, including floods and derechos right here in our hometown. Libraries, museums, and cultural institutions across the country have taken note, and have learned that creating a comprehensive disaster recovery plan is essential. However, the difference between […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History September 23rd – September 30th

Arnold Palmer is considered one of the greatest professional golf players of all time, having made a huge impact on the public image of the sport. Golf was a sport that until Palmer’s time was considered only a pastime for the upper class to enjoy. However, Palmer helped to change this perception and made golf […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History September 16th – September 22nd

On September 18, 2017, Hurricane Maria continued to grow in severity as it headed towards the US Territory of Puerto Rico. The island’s Public Safety Commissioner was quoted in the Moultrie Observer as warning those in the path of the hurricane that they had to evacuate, or else they would die. That day, it reached […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History September 9th – September 15th

The events that happened on September 11th, 2001, left a lasting mark on the history of America. This day sparked international conflict, cost American lives, and, through the rubble of this disaster, united the people of the United States in a way they had never before been. In the early morning hours of September 11th, […]

Spotlight: The Perry County Public Library (Indiana)

The Perry County Archive currently contains 30 different titles and over 100,000 different images, The Archive also has 6,500-7,000 searches each month! Nestled in the heart of southern Indiana, Perry County is a community rich in history and heritage. Established in 1814, Perry County is named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the […]

Guest Blog Series: Discovering Family Relationships Through Newspapers

It is my opinion that of all the resources and records available to research – newspaper articles are most critical, because of the richness and variety of their content. For example, I had found my great great grandfather Louis Marks early on but knew nothing of his siblings or parents. Louis was the first who […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History August 12th – August 18th

On August 14th, 2003, an alarm system glitch led to a region-wide blackout. Stretching from Canada to the northeast US, millions of people were left without power. In some places, it only took 2 hours to get power back, but in others, it took 2 days. Almost 100 deaths were caused by the indirect effects […]

The Community History Archives: This Week In History August 5th – August 11th

The Curiosity Rover was a part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission. It landed on Mars on August 6th, 2012, and began its journey around the red planet. The rover was car-sized, bigger than many of us imagined it to be. The job of curiosity was to survey the climate, surface, and geology of Mars. […]

Beyond Black & White: Digitizing In Grayscale Or Color

At Advantage Archives, we continually evaluate our digitization methods, focusing on improving quality while maintaining affordability for our partners. As technology has evolved, so has our approach to digitizing microfilm, newspapers, and historical documents. While many of our earlier projects featured bitonal images, technological advancements, strategic partnerships, and reduced costs have allowed us to refine […]

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