The Dryden & District Museum and the Dryden Public Library are committed to preserving and sharing knowledge within our City and the surrounding area. We are delighted to ask you to be a part of an important project which will see the digitization of the Dryden Observer newspapers by making a financial donation. The Department of Canadian Heritage is generously supporting a majority of this project. However, we must still contribute of $25,000 for this project to be a success.
Between our two facilities, there is a collection of The Dryden Observer newspapers that spans from the late 1800s to the late 1980s. Within these papers are significant moments in Dryden’s development such as the building of the Dryden Public High School, advertisements from local businesses, and records of life from citizens, from obituaries to personal letters to the editor.
We are asking for your help in the continuation of this project. With sensitive documents such as newspapers, the task of digitization takes an expert team that is in Southern Ontario. For this project to succeed we are looking to our community, those who are reflected in these papers and who use them regularly for donations.
Your financial support would directly contribute to an increase in accessibility to these collections. Once digitized they will be available at two terminal locations, one at the Dryden Public Library and one at the Dryden & District Museums. The optical character recognition that will be on these files will aid those with difficulty in sight to access the information and increase research speed. This will also help with long term conservation of the physical copies, and preservation of our local history. These documents have been used as resources in genealogy, research projects for schools, and business and development tracking not only within Dryden but the surrounding communities including Minnitaki, Vermillion Bay, Wabigoon, and many others.
If you have any questions, please contact Michelle at the Museum or Tina at the Library. We would be happy to provide additional information on the project, the benefits of digitization, or how to donate. Your financial support will be vital in guaranteeing the preservation of these important historical documents for generations to come.
We appreciate your support and hope to continue providing you with meaningful services.
| Donor Recognition (How will your contribution be recognized?) |
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Editor $5000
Columnist $1000-$4999
Subscriber $500-$999
Reader $25-$499
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Project Timeline |
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Preparation (Approx. 3-4 Months) During this step we are taking the time to make sure everything behind the scenes is in alignment to make public access easier later. Ex. Selection of the best copies of each paper, shipping materials, coordinating with Our Digital World. Digitization (Approx. 4-6 Months) Our Digital World will be managing this portion of the process. To maintain the integrity of the original copies they must carefully unbind, scan, and repackage each paper individually. Terminal Set Up (Approx. 1 Month) Working alongside Our Digital World we will design the page that will be accessible to the public. This process will include some translation to provide guidance in both English and French. Marketing & Advertising (Approx. 2 Months) To spread awareness about the newly accessible papers, we will use different formats to reach the greater public. Launch Event (Upon Project Completion) To show our appreciation for all who donated and made this project a success. |
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