NEWSPAPER PROJECT

The County-City Library is working with the Sweetwater Reporter News and the Pioneer City-County Museum to preserve our community's history through the newspaper.  The library was contacted by Ana Krahmer Coordinator of the Digital Newspaper Program at the University of North Texas Libraries.  They are working with libraries to digitize their newspaper, and put them online through the Portal of Texas History. The Portal is a website of Texas History. They are also working with the Tocker Foundation, which is a foundation which give support to small rural Texas libraries.  There are several phases to this project.

Phase 1: The library has many of the older newspaper issues on microfilm. The museum houses many of the actual old newspaper some of which the library does not have on microfilm. The library received a $50,000.00 grant from the Tocker Foundation to microfilm and digitize these old newspapers. Some of the newspapers are now in Oklahoma being microfilmed. Once microfilmed, they will be sent to University of North Texas where the staff will scan and upload and these copies.  This phase will be completed by the first part of 2013.

Phase 2: UNT also has a project where they work with local newspapers to put the lastest issues online. The Sweetwater Reporter has provided files of 2010, 2011 and Jan.-April 2012. They are now available online through the Portal of Texas.

Phase 3: The library will continue to work with UNT and the Sweetwater Reporter to digitize as many years as possible of the newspaper. The library will continue to look for funding. 

We are very excited to offer this service to our community not only in Sweetwater and Nolan County, but anyone who has access to a computer interested in our community's history.