Rochester Resources online!

for the CNYGS April 2008

Local History & Digitization

• Rochester is becoming nationally known for it’s accomplishments.

• What does this marriage mean and why are we doing this?

• Here’s a short overview showing the effect of digitizing on family and local history materials and what we have made available up till now.

From the blog of“That History Day Gal”

Tobi Voight of the NY State Historical Assn

A good question - Why should a public library go to the bother and expense of making digital copies of materials that

already exist in hard copy formats?Because…

1. The more that they are used, the more your own success helps to destroy or deteriorate them. In most cases, you need the content, not the actual

original format.2. In a public library setting, you risk theft and

mutilation since your archival options are limited.3. Multiple users can see an item simultaneously,

and obtain prints under controlled conditions.

What value does the library add?

• Knowledge and usability via the creation of subject driven “pathfinders”.

• People often find using the library a little mysterious. Libraries have their own language, but once you know that language, worlds of knowledge open up. Library staff have created pathfinders that provide the tools needed to research a particular topic and help the user find their way.

What are some Rochester initiatives?

• We have tried since 1999 to make parts of our collection more accessible and useful to our users – mostly the general public – through the Rochester Images project, the online directories, Rochester History pamphlets, and by providing cataloging and descriptions of the materials that we hold. Additionally we have created pathfinders to feature specific collections.

Here’s a look at the current library pathfinder page:

There are several choices and each takes the user to a sub section with more information and links.

Digital Collections Overview• There are several collections in pathfinder format

which are up and running at present. All of the digital formatted items are individually available in the online catalog They include:

• Rochester city directories – 1827 to 1930, every page of every directory; one of the foremost collections like this in the entire USA

• Monroe County Directories – 20 of them• Historic monographs - early Rochester authors or

local imprints

Historic newspapers

Frederick Douglass’ Paper

Monroe Democrat

Moore’s Rural New Yorker

North Star

Northern Freeman

Rights of Man

Soldier’s Aid  

Historical Serials (journals) and newspapers

Hospital Review 1864-1866

Rochester Gem 1829-1843

The Rochester History

quarterly pamphlets –

Every issue since 1939, and

the Local Rochester Newspaper Index - 85 volumes, 500,000 entries, searchable via O.C. R. software

What else is being worked on?

• Rochester Life Records (850,000 + name birth, marriage and death indexes to entries in the local (Gannett) newspapers, 1957-2008. Compiled in house by staff, converted to a searchable database by a contractor. Copies of the referenced entries are sold via online ordering. Searching them is free.

Digital images

• Photographs, slides and negatives from 10 regional partner institutions

• Historic postcards from Rochester Public Library

• Maps from Rochester Public Library and the Monroe County Historian’s Office

• Manuscripts and ephemera from Rochester Public Library

• Rochester Images – started in 1999.

• Approximately 22,000 images of pictures, postcards, maps, etc. from the Rochester Museum and Science Center, town historians, city archives, and the Library's own collection. All cataloged to national MARC standards and are available on the web at the library web site.

• Here’s some of our partners -

Albert R. Stone Negative Collectionof the RochesterMuseum & Science Center

13,500 entries in Rochester Images

Brighton Municipal Historian Collection

500 images

City HallPhoto LabContemporaryCollection

1500 images

City HallPhoto LabVintage Collection

130 images

East RochesterMunicipal HistorianCollection

200 images

HamlinMunicipal Historian Collection

200 images

HiltonMunicipal HistorianCollection

250 images

Office of the Monroe County HistorianMap Collection

40 images

Perinton Municipal Historian Collection

375 images

RochesterMunicipal Archives Early Collection

400 images

RochesterMunicipal ArchivesModern Collection

700 images

Rochester Public LibraryAlson Shantz Collection[World War I]

120 images

Rochester Public LibraryManuscript Collection

200 images, includes Susan B Anthony letters

Rochester Public LibraryPicture File

200 images

Rochester Public LibraryMap Collection

700 images

Rochester Public LibraryPostcard Collection

2500 images

Rochester Public LibraryDigital Journals

Rochester Public LibraryDirectories1827-1930

As far as we know, the longest continuous online run of any city in the nation

Online databases -

Rochester Public LibraryDigital Books

Rochester Public LibraryHistoric Newspaper Indexes1818-1897

Rochester Public LibraryHistoric Newspaper Collection

MANY ROADS TO FREEDOM:

ABOLITIONISM AND THE CIVIL WAR IN ROCHESTER

Our newest online pathfinder is:

About the Project - • A digital online exhibition created by

Rochester Public Library from their image and text collections in the Local History and Genealogy Division

• Covers LOCAL people, places, events and writings of the period

• Texts are provided in pdf format with the ability to be searched via optical character recognition software

PART 1: Rochester, abolitionism and the road to war --

1830-1861Portraits and

biographical Information on localabolitionistssuch as Amy Post

Local stops on the Underground Railroad

Slave Narratives

Local anti-slavery newspapers

Anti-slavery books

Anti-slavery speeches:

This image is from a FrederickDouglassSpeech given at Rochester’sCorinthian Hall

Anti-slavery Songs

PART 2: Rochester and the Civil

War – 1861-1865

Local Civil War-era newspapers and serials

CIVIL WAR MASTER INDEXProvides access to newspaper articles in the local papers.

Pictures of Civil War Soldiers

Currier & Ives prints

PART 3: Rochester and the Aftermath of war

Veterans’ Reunions

The Douglass Monument in Rochester

Regimental Histories

• Images can be quick-downloaded as JPEG format, or can be ordered as TIFF format on a CD. Copies may be purchased, and frequently are by TV stations, movie producers and publishers.

What does the library do with these materials?

• We use them daily in the provision of reference and referral services; help in- house patrons use them; guide people who call, email or write to us; and give presentations to community and educational groups letting them know of the databases’ existence.

• This includes inviting about 20 volunteer docents from the Rochester Genealogical Society groups to assist patrons with their family histories, and training the volunteers in the subject matter and use of the databases.