Phase II of VDNP Approved!

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) notified the University of Vermont Libraries today that we have been  awarded $300,000 in NEH funding to continue the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project, Phase II (2012-2014) as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program.

Following the remarkable success of VTDNP Phase I, which will conclude on Auguest 31, 2012 -- after having digitized nearly 130,000 pages of historical Vermont newspapers for the Library of Congress' Chronicling America database -- VTDNP Phase II will begin on September 1, 2012 and continue through August 31, 2014.  Phase II goals include ongoing "digitization of 100,000 pages of Vermont newspapers, issued in English, French, and Italian, dating from 1836 to 1922, as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)."

The NEH press release is now public, as part of their overall award announcements:  $39 million dollars in awards for 244 projects. The press release includes a listing of the 244 projects - arranged alphabetically by state.

With Thanks and Appreciation to all who made Phase I a great success - and also to those who contributed ideas and support to the VTDNP Phase II NEH proposal, notably:

Tom McMurdo, Project Librarian
Sally Blanchard, Digital Support Specialist
Prudence Doherty, Special Collections Librarian for Public Services/Vermont historian & newspaper essayist

And our state partners:

Chris Kirby, Adult Services & Technology Librarian, Ilsley Public Library; Paul Donovan, Law Librarian, Vermont Department of Libraries; Martha Reid, State Librarian, Vermont Department of Libraries; Paul Carnahan, Vermont Historical Society; and Gregory Sanford, State Archivist, Vermont State Archives & Records Administration

And the support here at UVM has been awesome, including:

Cataloging/Metadata support: Michael Breiner, Mary VanBuren-Swasey, Jake Barickman;
Systems advice and support: Paul Philbin, Lyman Ross, Marcie Crocker
Administrative encouragement & support:  Mara Saule, Jeff Marshall, Selene Colburn, Sarah Gordon, Annette Mailhot, Nancy Bercaw

The VTDNP is  truly collaborative team effort. Thanks for your support - and we look forward to bringing you more great digital newspaper content over the next two years!

by Birdie MacLennan