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Indiana Bicentennial Celebration 2016
Digitization of the Times of Northwest Indiana microfilm archives
Pages from The Times of Northwest Indiana and a predecessor, The Vidette-Messenger, are being converted from microfilm to digital format. This not only preserves the data from the dangers of brittle microfilm and aging microfilm readers, but also makes the information easily searchable. Researchers will no longer need to know a narrow range of dates to find the information they're seeking, and they will be able to search via the Internet from anywhere in the world. This allows easy access to the reporting and recording of Northwest Indiana history as it happened.
Q&A with Legacy Project Coordinator Doug Ross
What do you consider the key accomplishment of your Legacy Project?
- Making microfilm of The Times' earliest editions available for free to the general public, worldwide, via the internet.
Describe a highlight or most memorable moment related to your Legacy Project.
- The first time we looked at the pages online, they were remarkably clear -- even better than on our microfilm reader. The news, prices and other information from more than a century ago were so fascinating to read.
How/where are you preserving information and artifacts related to your Legacy Project?
- The Indiana State Library is housing the actual data, including images. There is a link to them at nwi.com/history.
Committee Members
- Pat Kincaid
- Chandler Lighty
- Connie Renfeld
- Doug Ross
- Bob Heisse
- Alice Smedstad
- Kathy Powers
- Bill Nangle
Project Details
- Organization: Merrillville/Ross Township Historical Society
- County: Lake
- Contact: Patricia Kincaid, 219-933-3383, patricia.kincaid@nwi.com
- Type: Non-profit
- Project Number: IBC-YE-67
- Website: www.merrillvillehistory.org
