Fwd: Birmingham Public Library launches new digital collections

[Rachel E. Shuttlesworth]

While there's not a WHOLE lot available in the digital collection
described below, some of you might find it useful.
Rachel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Rachel E. Shuttlesworth
University of Alabama English Department
Box 870244 • Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0244
205.348.7616
rachel.e.shuttlesworth at ua.edu





----- Forwarded message from Melinda Shelton <mshelton at BHAM.LIB.AL.US> -
----
    Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 12:02:35 -0600
    From: Melinda Shelton <mshelton at BHAM.LIB.AL.US>
Reply-To: Melinda Shelton <mshelton at BHAM.LIB.AL.US>
 Subject: Birmingham Public Library launches new digital collections
      To: SLIS-L at bama.ua.edu

Starting in January 2006 the Birmingham Public Library’s Digital
Collections will be available over the Internet 24/7 without charge and
will feature some of the great treasures of the library’s special
collections and archives. Many of these collections offer rare or
unique
glimpses into the history of Birmingham. “By digitizing some of the
library’s newspaper clippings, photographs, and other materials, we are
able to offer these special resources to people all over the world. We
also expect these digital documents and images to motivate people from
Birmingham and beyond to come into the library to see more of the
library’s historic collection,” said Library Director Barbara Sirmans.
She added, “This project would not have been possible without the
generosity of the /Birmingham News/ and the /Birmingham Post Herald/
that allowed us to reproduce many of the articles from their papers.”

The digital collections encompass a variety of topics from the familiar
to the unusual and currently feature newspaper articles, photographs,
local history, and full-text pamphlets. The digital resources will
continue to grow as the library adds more materials from its special
collections. The library is also using this project as a catalyst to
ask
the public for historical photographs, scrapbooks, high-school
yearbooks, and other materials from private collections that document
the city’s past, particularly from the 1930s forward.

Collections already online include a souvenir booklet on the tornado of
1901, memorabilia on the Alabama Theatre, and photos depicting the
aftermath of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The
digital collections are on the library’s Web site at
http://www.bplonline.org <http://www.bplonline.org/>.

Check it out!



Melinda Shelton
Class of 1988

----- End forwarded message -----