Newspaper Digitization Project

DCGS is working to digitally preserve the print copies of those historical Douglas County newspapers that are in danger of being lost due to deterioration of the acid heavy newsprint.  Committee members Bob James, Nancy McLendon and Nelle Wigginton are working with Holly Phillips, Assistant Director for Technical Services at West GA Regional Library; Josh Kitchens, Director of Archival Services and Digital Initiatives for the Georgia Public Library Service and Donnie Summerlin, Digital Projects Archivist for the Digital Library of Georgia, a part of the University of Georgia Libraries, to get these papers digitized and hosted on the Digital Library of Georgia website.

The newspapers will be searchable and free to anyone with internet access at Georgia Historic Newspapers.  No password is needed.  Please check out the site to see newspapers that are already available.

The first phase of this project is to preserve the oldest newspapers, those most in danger of deterioration and no longer under copyright.  Fifty-six loose issues of Douglas County papers with dates ranging from 1881 to 1926 have been delivered to the Digital Library of Georgia and are currently awaiting digitization.

The Douglas County Genealogical Society provided funding for this first phase.  We will be applying for grants to finance the remaining portion, as well as any future projects.  We are currently awaiting a quote for the digitization of issues of The New South (1901-1903) and The Douglas County Sentinel (1913-1914).

The next phase of the project will be to digitize issues of The Douglas County Sentinel published between 1942 and 1948.  Our task at the moment is to obtain copyright clearance for these issues.

The final phase of this project will be to secure funding to digitize the existing microfilm copies of The Douglas County Sentinel.  Why, you might ask, since they are already on microfilm?  BECAUSE:

  1. Microfilm is a dying technology.
  2. Microfilm also deteriorates, just not as fast as newsprint.
  3. Microfilm viewers are expensive to acquire and maintain.
  4. Microfilm has limited availability - a copy (and viewer) needed at each location.
  5. Microfilm is slow and tedious to search, each page must be read, individually.

Copies of The Douglas County Sentinel published in 1915, 1916 and June – Dec. of 1941 have not been located. If any reader knows where these issues might be found or can suggest an organization that might provide funding for the project, please contact the of the Douglas County Genealogical Society.