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G2S Project Code: 2020-CO-85173
State: Colorado
Fiscal Year: 2020

Grantee
Colorado State Library

Project Director
Director Name: Leigh Jeremias
Director Phone: 720-483-4261
Director Email: ljeremias@coloradovirtuallibrary.org

General Information
Title: Statewide Digital Collections: Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection
State Project Code: 160K
Start Date: 10/01/2020
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (CHNC) provides free online access to 500+ newspaper titles published in Colorado from 1859 to 2020. Newspapers within the collection come from throughout the state and include papers published in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Slovac, and Swedish. CHNC provides access to over 2 million digitized pages from these newspapers. Newspapers are digitized from microfilm or from the original paper publication. CHNC uses Veridian Software, which was designed specifically for providing access to digitized newspapers. Project staff manage partner and vendor relationships and communications; evaluate condition and quality of newspaper content in its original format, microfilm, or digital format; manage project timeline and processes; perform quality assurance of digital content; maintain the technical infrastructure; and participate in project outreach and education.
State Goal: Resource sharing

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$57,693.94

$115,231.55

$250,935.30

$423,860.79

Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.
General (select only for electronic databases or other data sources)
History

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Consultations
Narrative: Providing consulting and pricing information to partners and protential partners related to newspaper digitization and participation in the CHNC
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Virtual

Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 55
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 5

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Public Libraries: 113
Academic Libraries: 27
SLAA: 2
Consortia: 3
Special Libraries: 39
School Libraries: 0
Other: 10

Activity Details
Title: Digitizing Newspapers
Narrative: Manage the process of creating digital surrogates of orginal newspapers and newspapers on microfilm to be included in CHNC. This process includes evaluation of original newspapers or newspapers on microfilm, delivery of that content to digitization vendor, review of digital files from vendor, delivery of files to processing vendor and delivery of files with metadata that are ingested into CHNC.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Digital

Quantity
Number of items digitized: 14,014
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 14,014
Number of physical items: 0
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 0
Number of plans/frameworks: 0

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Arvada Historical Society
Address: 7307 Grandview Ave.
City: Arvada
State: CO
Zip: 80002
Name: Aurora Historic Preservation Commission
Address: 15051 E. Alameda Parkway
City: Aurora
State: CO
Zip: 80012
Name: Aurora Historical Society
Address: 15051 E. Alameda Pkwy
City: Aurora
State: CO
Zip: 80012
Name: Colorado State University-Fort Collins
Address: 102 Administration Building
City: Fort Collins
State: CO
Zip: 80523-0100
Name: Colorado State University-Pueblo
Address: 2200 Bonforte Blvd
City: Pueblo
State: CO
Zip: 81001-4901
Name: DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
Address: 10 W 14TH AVENUE PARKWAY
City: DENVER
State: CO
Zip: 80204
Name: DOUGLAS COUNTY LIBRARIES
Address: 100 SOUTH WILCOX
City: CASTLE ROCK
State: CO
Zip: 80104
Name: EAGLE VALLEY LIBRARY DISTRICT
Address: 600 BROADWAY
City: EAGLE
State: CO
Zip: 81631
Name: EAST MORGAN COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT/BRUSH
Address: 500 CLAYTON STREET
City: BRUSH
State: CO
Zip: 80723
Name: ESTES VALLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT
Address: 335 EAST ELKHORN AVENUE
City: ESTES PARK
State: CO
Zip: 80517
Name: Fairview High School
Address: 1515 Greenbriar Blvd
City: Boulder
State: CO
Zip: 80305
Name: Florence Historical Archive
Address: 600 W. 3rd Street
City: Florence
State: CO
Zip: 81226
Name: Golden Museum
Address: 923 10th Street
City: Golden
State: CO
Zip: 80401
Name: History Colorado
Address: 1200 N. Broadway
City: Denver
State: CO
Zip: 80203
Name: Huerfano County Historical Society
Address: 112 W. 5th Street
City: Walsenburg
State: CO
Zip: 81089
Name: Jefferson County Archives
Address: 3500 Illinois Street
City: Golden
State: CO
Zip: 80401
Name: LAFAYETTE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Address: 775 W BASELINE RD
City: LAFAYETTE
State: CO
Zip: 80026
Name: Longmont Museum
Address: 400 Quail Road
City: Longmont
State: CO
Zip: 80501
Name: LONGMONT PUBLIC LIBRARY
Address: 409 4TH AVE
City: LONGMONT
State: CO
Zip: 80501
Name: Loveland Museum
Address: 503 N. Lincoln Ave
City: Loveland
State: CO
Zip: 80537
Name: Lyons Redstone Museum
Address: 340 High Street
City: Lyons
State: CO
Zip: 80540
Name: Palmer Lake Historical Society
Address: 66 Lower Glenway
City: Palmer Lake
State: CO
Zip: 80133
Name: PUEBLO CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT
Address: 100 E ABRIENDO AVE
City: PUEBLO
State: CO
Zip: 81004
Name: SAN MIGUEL LIBRARY DISTRICT # 1/TELLURIDE
Address: 100 W. PACIFIC AVE.
City: TELLURIDE
State: CO
Zip: 81435
Name: SOUTHERN CHAFFEE COUNTY REGIONAL LIB DIST/SALIDA
Address: 405 'E' ST.
City: SALIDA
State: CO
Zip: 81201
Name: VAIL PUBLIC LIBRARY
Address: 292 W MEADOW DR
City: VAIL
State: CO
Zip: 81657
Name: Western State Colorado University
Address: 600 N Adams
City: Gunnison
State: CO
Zip: 81231
Question 1: I am satisfied that the resource is meeting library needs.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: Applying the resource will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Activity Details
Title: MARC Record Repository
Narrative:

The CHNC MARC record database provides a z39.50 compliant database of MARC records to facilitate the retrieval of full, title-level MARC records for all titles currently represented in the CHNC collection. Each MARC record contains a link to the specific title on the CHNC platform from which users can search within the title, browse available issues, and explore related titles.

Marmot Sideload: Through a periodic sideload of MARC records, libraries that are part of the Marmot Library Network, a consortium of 30 Colorado libraries and Marmot’s Colorado discovery partners enjoy access to MARC records for all 500+ (and counting) CHNC titles in the shared Pika discovery layer, where they will be available for search and discovery.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Digital

Quantity
Number of items digitized: 67
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 67
Number of physical items: 0
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 1
Number of plans/frameworks: 0

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 113
Academic Libraries: 27
SLAA: 2
Consortia: 3
Special Libraries: 30
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Question 1: I am satisfied that the resource is meeting library needs.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: Applying the resource will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
During this reporting year our partners and users continue to be pleased with CHNC and the content provided. The number of participating partner institutions continues to grow as does the number of users. The service is promoted through outreach activities including social media posts, online articles, and partner consultations. While CHNC has consistently added material since its inception, this last year added over 135,000 pages (over 14,000 issues) and 118 new titles. New CHNC users have increased by 17% (194,057 users) during the reporting year. Partners and users alike are pleased with the broader content types that are being included such as agricultural bulletins and newsletters, the addition of an LGBTQ newspaper, and newspapers from underrepresented geographic areas. This increase in content is due in part to continued outreach efforts, including Facebook and blog posts on the Colorado State Library Facebook account and the Colorado Virtual Library blog site and mail list posts highlighting the platform’s text correcting feature, tips on how to efficiently use CHNC, and new additions to the CHNC collection. These continued outreach efforts have created greater awareness of the service in the library and museum communities and have resulted in new partners who are adding significant amounts of additional content to CHNC. We assist these new partners by reviewing and advising on their grant applications and/or requests for funds but also by encouraging partnerships with other like institutions that may have the same goal of digitizing historic newspapers for their communities. With the diversity of our partnerships comes an increased diversity in our content. During this reporting year we partnered with the Wyoming State Library and the University of Wyoming to create two new newspapers user interfaces: the Wyoming Digital Newspaper Collection and the Plains to Peaks Historic Newspapers which combines the content of the CHNC and the Wyoming Newspapers collection for simple one-stop searching. All content is also included in Elephind.com which enables users to search, for free, across many international newspaper sites simultaneously, rather than having to visit each site separately. Facebook, Elephind and the Colorado Virtual Library were our top referral sites for CHNC visitors.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
The CHNC user referral statistics reinforce the need to continue to increase our Facebook and blog presence. As mentioned, during this reporting period we continued to increase the diversity of the CHNC by significantly increasing the number of titles included in the collection. Our partners have a desire to not only add more ethnically diverse papers but also content types that are outside the scope of traditional newspapers such as bulletins, newsletters, and magazine-like publications. In the future we will continue to seek out this type of content and engage partnerships that will support the addition of this content.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
During this reporting year we learned there is a desire from our partners and users to add additional content types to the database outside of the mainstream or typical community newspapers. Titles that represent underrepresented groups, agricultural activities and more contemporary content all serve as important historical resources to our audience of genealogists, general researchers, teachers, and students. We have also learned that our access platform, Veridian, is a desired and welcomed search experience for our users. The new Wyoming newspaper site received over 719,000 page views (from 10,244 users) in the 2nd half of the reporting year. Broadening our collection’s scope has increased our content, our partners, and our usership.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:
CHNC: We will create a collection development plan to in part identify the communities not represented in CHNC. From that we will, take a targeted approach in educating those communities on how they can participate in CHNC. DPLA Service Hub: As we move forward with our proposed hub phases it is anticipate that we will increase our activity by writing the hub application and if accepted we move into the prototype phase. We create and test our technology, draft our standards and best practices and increases our outreach activities.
Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:

Exemplary: Yes
Exemplary NarrativeThis Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection grows through community funding and participation. Through inclusion of local and regional content in the database, specific communities, geographic regions, municipalities, and organizations can ensure that their unique history is not lost but is given a voice to share with the rest of the state and the world. During the past year we have seen several local government agencies put forward substantial funding to digitize decades of historic newspaper content from their town’s history. Together, these individual projects, both large and small, come together in one place to help fill in the pieces of the landscape that is Colorado - documenting where we have come and how we have gotten here. Providing an opportunity for the community members to take part in the collection development of the database (they choose what they fund to add) ensures that there is growing buy-in with the service, and growing enthusiasm for the historic content.

Project Tags: digitization, newspapers