Our Community History Archive aligns directly with the portion of our mission that states that the public library will “maintain and improve the quality of life for all citizens of our community by providing resources and programs that enhance and contribute to individual knowledge, enlightenment, and enjoyment in the most efficient manner possible.”  What could be a more efficient method to access information than a digitized collection?

This is the first time that people can access these old newspapers without microfilm or online newspapers by subscription. This is a gift from our organizations to this community.

We live in a time where people have come to expect that the vast majority of information that they are seeking can be found quickly through online searches. However extremely specific questions like those we see with local history questions don’t lend themselves to successful “Google” searches. By providing access to this material online we’re contributing to our mission to provide material to our patrons in the manner and fashion that they now perform their research

I think one of the things we enjoy most about the digital archive is the people we come into contact with. We receive calls from all over the country looking for information, mostly genealogy questions. Helping them find their answers is always a lot of fun and we get to share in their discoveries. People are always so grateful that the information is available

Our Community History Archive has given the local community easier access to the history they want. By digitizing the local newspapers, people can search for specific things rather than just browsing the microfilm. This increases the success rate of finding what content they are looking for. They may even find content they didn’t even know existed. Even if specifics are unknown, browsing is made easier as well with the digital format.

Our Community History Archive is a resource that allows the library to work towards its mission of providing materials, programming, and other services. It’s just one of the services offered to the community, whether it’s within the walls of the library or accessed remotely.

Our digital collection of historic Moline newspapers connects our community to events that impact and transform their lives.  It makes history come to life. People can fill in missing pieces from their memories.

The earliest records of the history of our community are found in the newspapers, That’s really what we want, is we want people to be able to go out and find these old newspapers, and search through and find out where we came from, and how we got to be where we are today.

You’ve given us wonderful fund-raising ideas but even more importantly, you’ve provided a fantastic product that folks in Seward rave about. Being able to search our newspaper archives from home has generated so many compliments, especially in this year of historical significance, that I’m sorry we didn’t undertake this project years ago! It is easy to demonstrate its value to individuals and groups who are interested in donating to preserve our local history, and it is just fun to browse old local newspapers. Thank you for all you do to make us look good!

I want to tell you how excited we are with our digitization of our old newspapers. Now we have this wonderful searchable database. We can search so many ways, and the best part is, with the link on our homepage, our newspapers, dating back to 1850, are available from anywhere in the world! Now when someone in Michigan wants genealogy help, they are but a click away. Thank you thank you thank you. Progress is great