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Newspaper digitization grant would open portal to local history

Old newspapers currently available to view on the Portal to Texas History. If the Herman Brown Free Library is awarded a Tocker Foundation grant, older editions of newspapers from Burnet, Bertram, and Marble Falls could be included in the online archive. Screen-captured image from Portal to Texas History website

The Herman Brown Free Library in Burnet has applied for a Tocker Foundation grant to digitize its newspaper archives and make Burnet County more accessible. The library hopes to convert its microfilm archive of local publications—some going back to 1874—into digital files that can be viewed through the online Portal to Texas History.

Some of the newspapers in the library’s archive are no longer in print, including the Marble Falls Messenger and the Bertram Enterprise. Those are slated for digitization along with the Burnet Bulletin. All are currently available on microfilm, a preservation method that reduces documents to miniature images on rolls of plastic film.

“Microfilm is durable, but over time it can be scratched or damaged, leading to the loss of information,” explained Florence Reeves, director of the Herman Brown Free Library, 100 E. Washington St. in Burnet. “Digitizing ensures we don’t lose anything and makes our history much more accessible.”

The Tocker Foundation has partnered with the University of North Texas’ Texas Digital Newspaper Program to help libraries, publishers, and other institutions digitize their newspapers, making them free and easy to search online. The Portal to Texas History is described as a “gateway to rare, historical, and primary source materials from or about Texas.”

“You can’t really know where we’re going unless you know where we’ve been,” Reeves said. “Part of understanding who we are as a community is knowing our roots and foundations and appreciating those who came before us.”

The University of North Texas will handle the technical aspects of the project, including digitization and shipping. The Tocker Foundation grant covers associated costs. Libraries simply provide their microfilm.

elizabeth@thepicayune.com