The Preservation Imaging Lab recently completed the Clowes Family Digital Collection, the largest collection to be digitized by IHS to date. The IHS Preservation Imaging Department, headed by David Turk, and technician Abigail Pratt (me), along with other part-time staff, utilized the majority of our equipment to accomplish this. Three high resolution scanning stations, a […]
The William H. Smith Memorial Library collects and preserves the history of Indiana including old letters, maps, and photographs so that they are available for future generations. In an earlier post I gave an overview of the IHS research library. Creating and maintaining a healthy and accessible collection is hard work and a never-ending cycle! […]
We just celebrated National Archives Month at the Indiana Historical Society! Did you know that IHS has some of Indiana’s greatest historical treasures? If you visit the William H. Smith Memorial Library located on the second floor (eye level with our hanging clocks) you will find yourself in a room with tables, chairs, books and […]
Despite a rich history, very little is known about the African-American experience from the state’s founding to the Civil War era. With the exception of a handful of monographs, graduate papers and journal articles, few publications have been written that focus on this history. Over the past 30 years, various research projects related to early […]
Journalism in America experienced dramatic growth and development during the Civil War Era. It was the first time an American war had been covered by the press, and there was an extremely high demand for information throughout the country. In order to accommodate the public?s need for news regarding the war, journalists began to use […]
Our senior director of Collections asked me once about some of my gee whiz? moments here, which got me to thinking about the interesting people I?ve encountered in my work. We?re always excited to share our collections with book publishers, documentary producers and the public. Last year, I really enjoyed being able to share photographs […]
Abe Lincoln here. Although it has been 100, two score, and eight years since I was shot to death while attending a play with my Mary, Major Rathbone and his fianc?e, Miss Harris, I decided to stop by the Lanham Gallery on the fourth floor of the History Center to see the exhibition commemorating the […]
So, I never knew my great grandparents were bee keepers. This might not sound like a big deal, but when you are researching your family history, finding fun facts like these can make the story that much more complete and interesting. I found a reference to their involvement in a beekeeping convention in a 1920 […]
My grandfather passed away three weeks ago. I’m 31 years old, and this is the first grandparent I’ve lost. I consider myself very lucky. After the funeral, we gathered at the house to start going through his stuff. The voice behind the stories was gone but the stuff remained. The bowling trophies and golf equipment. […]
One of the things that I enjoy about my work at the Indiana Historical Society is the interrelatedness of our collections and, through those collections, my introduction to ordinary people the common men and women of history, many who have done extraordinary things. Though we have much material at the William H. Smith Library dating […]
