« Referendum proposed; borough facility would become county branch | Main | One small step for local author »

July 27, 2009

Woodbridge library preserves history, newspapers

by Ryan Hutchins/For The Star-Ledger
Wednesday July 22, 2009, 8:21 PM
WOODBRIDGE -- Mayor John E. McCormac was making news in the 1960s, but his memories of those days might be a little fuzzy. That's because he was just old enough to be a Cub Scout.

He got a reminder today at the unveiling of a new digital archive of Woodbridge newspapers.

On Sept. 25, 1968, the now defunct Leader Press carried story that mentioned the young McCormac, noting he'd earned his "bear badge" and was moving on to be a Webelo -- a transition to the Boy Scouts.

David Gard/For The Star-Ledger
Vincent Soccodato, Social Studies supervisor for Woodbridge schools, looks over a 1926 newspaper.
The mayor didn't know this afternoon that he was the subject of the inaugural search of the Woodbridge Public Library's new digital newspaper archive, but he rather liked finding out and seeing the system in action.

"It's kind of like having Facebook a hundred years ago," he said a few minutes after cutting a ceremonial ribbon to launch the archive, which has papers dating back to 1876.

There are 10 newspapers catalogued as PDF files in the digital archive, much of which are accessible on www.wooodbridgelibrary.org. Some papers are accessible only from the libraries branches because of copyright concerns.

But the $33,000 project was hailed today by librarians, historians and local leaders as a step toward preserving decades of history and putting that information at the fingertips of local residents.

"Today, I'm almost bouncing up and down with the digitization," said Brenda Yori Velasco, a councilwoman who's leading some efforts to preserve the history of Woodbridge.

Wendi Rottweiler is the research librarian who lead the project, which kicked into full gear a year ago when Middlesex County's Cultural & Heritage Commission gave the township a $2,300 grant. She first started laying the groundwork about 15 years ago, she said.

"As a local historical librarian, I get geology requests from all over the country, let alone all over the world," she said.

Now anyone curious about their family's heritage in Northern Middlesex County can search the archive. It's also a major help to historians, Rottweiler said.

"A huge section of New Jersey history would be lost forever" without the effort, she said.

The archive includes the full first year of The Independent Hour, with issues published between 1876 and 1878. It's believed to be the only continuous collection of the publication.

Other papers include Carteret Press, 1925 to 1965; Fords Beacon, 1936 to 1961; Independent Leader, 1940 to 1965; Leader Press, 1967 to 1877l The Weekly Register, 1898 to 1902; The Woodbridge Leader, 1927 to 1928; The Woodbridge News, 1899 to 1902; Woodbridge Independent, 1919 to 1938; and Woodbridge Leader, 1926 to 1939.

Some issues or several year blocks are left out because they weren't available. The library is still trying to work out some copyright issues to add other newspapers, such as The News Tribune. Rottweiler encourages anyone who finds old local papers in their homes to contact the library.

Posted by tumulty at July 27, 2009 9:49 AM

Comments

Post a comment