Brooklyn Eagle Online

[George Thompson]

Folks:

I recently received the following message from a librarian at the
Brooklyn Public:
"Hi, George.  When we last worked together at the Reference Desk, you
had very some
nice things to say about Brooklyn Public Library's Eagle online.  As
you know, this online resource only spans (roughly) the nineteenth-
century.  BPL is currently applying for a grant to fund the cost of
digitizing the remainder of the Eagle's run, through the mid-twentieth
century.
"In light of the enthusiasm you expressed, would you be willing to
write a short letter of support for this project?  The project manager
thinks one or two such testimonials could enhance our prospects for
obtaining funding.  Thanks very much for whatever help you might be
able to give."


He forwards to me the following letter from the person at the BPL in
charge of this project:
"As you know we are in the process of putting together a grant proposal
seeking funding to digitize 1903-23 issues of the Brooklyn Daily
Eagle.  If the project budget is approved by the library
administration, we will submit the grant proposal before February 1st.
The announcement of grant recipients is mid-September 2005. If your
contact at NYU is willing to write a letter of support on letterhead
that would be very helpful. The letter should include a statement as to
why this time period (1903-23) would be of great interest to NYU
library patrons.
"The letter should be sent to me [Susan Benz] (my address below) but
addressed to:

Ms. Martha Crawley
Program Officer Institute of Museum and Library Services
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20506

Susan Benz
Manager of Digital Library Services - EDO
Brooklyn Public Library
Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718.230.2750
s.benz at brooklynpubliclibrary.org

So: Those of you who have used this resource should write a letter
addressed to Crawley but mailed to Benz at the BPL.  The deadline it
seems would be Friday January 21 or early the following week, to allow
the BPL to meet their deadline of Tuesday February 1.
If this stage of the project is funded, it will still leave the last 30
years or so of the paper to be digitized.  The Eagle went out of
business in I think 1954.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern
Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.