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County approves $31,210 TexTreasures grant to digitize local newspapers
Summary
Commissioners accepted a Texas State Library and Archives Commission TexTreasures grant of $31,210 to digitize roughly 30,000 pages of historic Kaufman County newspapers and host them on the Portal to Texas History.
Kaufman County on July 22 accepted a $31,210 TexTreasures grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to digitize local newspapers and make them freely available online.
Kendall Knowles, manager at the Spellman Museum in Forney, told the court the project will digitize more than 30,000 pages of newspapers, including Kaufman County titles from about 1880 to 1909 and the Forney Messenger from roughly 1962 to about 1990. "This grant will allow us to digitize over 30,000 pages of newspapers," Knowles said.
County staff said the bulk of the reimbursable grant covers microfilming and that the University of North Texas' Portal to Texas History will host and maintain the digital files and public access portal. That arrangement will also provide usage statistics, staff said.
Commissioner Phillips moved to accept the grant; a second was recorded and the court approved the agreement. County staff said they will open a line item in the county budget to record grant reimbursements and will submit invoices for reimbursement under the grant terms.
At the meeting, staff noted that some original bound copies and microfilm rolls are fragile and that digitization will both preserve the materials and make them more accessible to genealogists and researchers.
