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Library negotiating hosting for digitized Benicia Herald; volunteers tried AI‑generated podcast from 1925 article

Benicia City Board of Library Trustees · March 11, 2025
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Summary

Staff reported volunteers digitized local Benicia Herald copies and the library is negotiating hosting with a provider; volunteers used AI to generate a podcast from a 1925 article, which staff described as 'creepy' for how realistic it sounded.

Jennifer told the board volunteers have digitized local newspaper copies and the library is negotiating with Light Newspaper Archive to host the material. She said volunteer technical contributors experimented with the digitized content, running a 1925 article through an AI tool that produced a podcast. "It sounded so real. It was creepy," Jennifer said.

The hosting deal would be an annual subscription (the vendor prices access by population), and Jennifer said the library is exploring options for making the Benicia Herald searchable online. She also said the library is working with historical‑society volunteers and local technical experts to publicize and enhance access to the archive.

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