Penn Libraries’ Launch of The Daily Pennsylvanian Digital Archives |
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March 22, 2016, Volume 62, No. 27 |
It’s fascinating to see a University change as the world around it changes, and the public will soon be able to navigate Penn’s transformation through the pages of The Daily Pennsylvanian—from anywhere in the world. The Penn Libraries recently launched the first edition of the ongoing project, The Daily Pennsylvanian Digital Archives, a collection of more than 40 years worth of digitized, searchable issues of the newspaper. The project was spearheaded by David McKnight and Jessica Dummer of the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts and follows Penn’s history as told through the eyes of its students, creating a unique lens for students and scholars to study Penn’s rich history.
In addition to its scholarly value, this archive holds particular interest for the Penn alumni community, offering them a new, dynamic way to relive their Penn experiences. This desire to provide a fresh reconnection with Penn spurred Penn Libraries Overseer Edward P. Mally, W’83, and his wife, Julia Lang Mally, W’83, to generously donate the seed money for this extensive project. Inspired by the idea of rediscovering Penn through The Daily Pennsylvanian, this initial gift was followed by donations from Eric D. Brotman, C’94, and the Class of 1979. Mr. Brotman counts the memories he has from working on The Daily Pennsylvanian among the best of his entire career and feels that the archive is “like discovering a long-lost diary of [his] time on campus.”
At this time, the Libraries are providing access to a 40-year portion of the project on The Daily Pennsylvanian Digital Archives website, but they are still seeking funding to make a full virtual facsimile of The Daily Pennsylvanian available. If you are interested in learning more about how you can help make all 24,700 issues available online, please contact Allison Chiacchiere at the Penn Libraries’ Advancement Office at aleib@upenn.edu
See the archive at: http://dparchives.library.upenn.edu/
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