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Winter Haven library expands digital local-history collection; staff to partner with museum and UF for newspaper digitization
Summary
Library staff described a project to refresh and expand Winter Haven's digital history archives, add scanned yearbooks and brochures, and pursue partnerships with the Museum of Winter Haven History and the University of Florida to digitize bound newspapers for public access.
Rebecca Player, a Winter Haven library staffer, told the commission she is leading a project to improve and grow the library's Winter Haven digital history collection. Player said the effort will standardize scanning processes, invite community contributions of photographs and documents, and merge select museum items with the library's collection to create a unified public archive.
Player said she was accepted into the Florida Department of Library and Information Sciences Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute and selected this digital-archive project as her program work. She described early results including about 700 digitized items in the collection, newly available Jewett High School yearbooks and a selection of material from the 1920s land-boom era; Player said she is working to add the Winter Haven News Chief bound newspapers via a UF digitization partnership (the UF collection currently includes a 1964 run).
Player highlighted searchable online features and a HistoryPin street-view overlay that lets users compare historical photos with current street views. She also said the library will accept donated items and encourage residents to bring materials for scanning and oral-history contributions. The library asked the commission to note the expanded archive as it develops content for the planned recreation and cultural center and for community display opportunities.
Commissioners and staff discussed print-quality downloads and framing for public exhibits; Player said most digitized images can be downloaded in high resolution for printing and display.
