Newspaper Volumes Saved
By CASEY JUNKINSArticle Photos
WHEELING - Through a collaborative effort between the Wheeling Newspapers and the Ohio County Public Library, a collection of classic editions of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register will be preserved in one place.
A story published in Friday's edition of The Intelligencer explained that the Ohio County Public Library had planned to distribute its collection of newspapers printed between 1875 and 1950 to the general public at 10 a.m. today.
But after careful consideration, the newspaper company decided to take possession of the papers with the goal of preserving them at one location for future generations.
"After the story was published, we decided that we needed to keep the collection together. The newspapers were very generous in offering to take the collection to preserve the history," said Dottie Thomas, library director.
Maintaining the collection in one place eventually will allow local history and genealogy researchers to access the entire 75-year span of records. Had the newspapers been distributed to the general public, this single archive of printed copies would not have been available, Thomas noted.
Therefore, those looking to research the papers' coverage of such historical events as World War I, World War II and the Great Depression will be able to find the papers in one place.
"This is the best solution for both the library and the newspapers," she said.
Thomas said the library is in the midst of a remodeling project that will require it to convert the space the newspapers previously occupied into meeting space. "The library, because it is expanding its meeting room space, just could not store the papers anymore," she said.
Most of the papers in the collection are very fragile, due to their age. So the plan to keep the papers in one location should prevent unnecessary and irreparable damage to the irreplaceable records.
The newspapers are delighted to have the chance to preserve and protect the archives, with the opportunity to make them even more valuable in the future.
Thomas emphasized the library still will have all of the classic newspapers available to the public via microfilm.
"These old newspapers represent an incredible treasure trove of history," said J. Michael Myer, executive editor of the newspapers. "In addition to the big stories, the 75 years of The Intelligencer and the News-Register are invaluable resources for local historians and for people tracing their family histories. By keeping them together, we are ensuring that those stories are available as a whole, rather than separated, as would have occurred had the collection been dispersed.
"We at the newspapers are especially grateful to the library for its stewardship of the historic newspapers for many decades - and for library officials' eagerness to work with us to preserve the collection," he said.
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mernie
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11-23-08 4:20 PM
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Would have been nice if the paper had taken 1 set of all of the newspapers and then let the public take the others. I was looking forward to hours of reading history from Wheeling and the world. At least they will be preserved.
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Gracie
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11-23-08 1:13 PM
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Do you have newspaper articles from the 1930's? The articles appeared in Subject: 1930 Court Case Records re. liquor laws. The Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH, 27 June 1930: The Newark Advocate, Newark, OH on the same day with a dateline of St. Clairsville. I would like to have a copy if they are available.
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Firestarter
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11-23-08 12:52 PM
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Regarding my last post on this subject, I certainly understand the time & cost involved with such an undertaking. I'm sure a grant from somewhere could be obtained and there certainly isn't a shortage of people who need a job in the Ohio Valley. The cost wouldn't be as much as you might expect. One last thought about this: it isn't the actual paper & printing that's valuable here. It's the information & perspective contained therein.
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Firestarter
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11-23-08 12:45 PM
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I've always thought that the Ohio County Public Library should take their collection of periodicals, including the newspapers, and transfer them from microfiche to a digital medium such as PDF. First, you will preserve them forever. Microfiche & microfilm are susceptible to fire, flood, etc. Moving at least the Intelligence/News Register & Times Leader films to digital will assure they will never be destroyed and, best of all, as bandwidth/storage becomes inexpensive, the public will truly have total access to the collection via the Internet. No longer would you have to go to the library, find the reel you need, search through edition after edition to find what you are looking for. Having the collection digitized and search-able via the Internet would truly make this invaluable journal of this area's history accessable to anyone in the world. Including those that have moved away.
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wonderwhy
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11-23-08 8:03 AM
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HA! sort of like the world according to garth!
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Melvin
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11-22-08 3:00 PM
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One should question the management, leadership, or board members of the library to even consider giving these away to the general public. There apparently exists little oversight or foresight at some level.
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susanTtalker
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11-22-08 11:57 AM
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This indeed was the best solution. I couldn't help but wonder when I read the first story why the paper wasn't doing this. This collection should never have been allowed to be divided. I just hope the newspapers really do allow others to come in and examine the archives.
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TruthSeeker
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11-22-08 9:00 AM
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Preserve history? THe newspapers' coverage of such historical events as World War I, World War II and the Great Depression? What will future historians have to say about the events of 2008 through the eyes of those same newspapers? I wouldn't want to look at them for anything other than curiosity as they sure don't document history if they were run the same way the current one is.
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oopsiambad
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11-22-08 7:32 AM
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The library could have listed the papers on eBay, or have had someone do this for them for a small fee. They could have used the money collected to purchase new books.
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Trollll
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11-22-08 7:22 AM
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This will prevent an incredible collection from being divvied up via Ebay. Not that I am against commerce, but there are indeed occasions when it is not the appropriate action.
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navyvet
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11-22-08 1:59 AM
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Bravo! Well Done!
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