During its 40th anniversary open house on Saturday, the Nipissing District Branch of Ontario Ancestors announced it will start digitizing the North Bay Nugget newspaper.
The first issues to be digitized from the branch’s collection of newspaper microfilms will be those published from 1909 to 1929, which are in the public domain.
The entire process is expected to take a few months before the collection is made available online for branch members due to the number of microfilm reels, the amount of time it takes to scan each one, and scheduling time when members, who are volunteers, can come in to do the work.
The branch wants to eventually convert all of its newspaper microfilms to a digital format so they are easier to handle and browse, and that includes the Timmins Porcupine Advance and newspapers from Timiskaming and Kirkland Lake.
The Nipissing District Branch executive committee members at the 40th anniversary open house in North Bay, announcing The Nugget newspaper digitization project. Left to right: Irving Sloss, Ann Smith, Barb Moore, Pamela Brown Tessier, and Pat Croteau. Photo courtesy of Pamela Brown Tessier.
Members and visitors
Pamela Brown Tessier, who is a member of the digitization team, said, “We have had the microfilms for years. When they are digitized, we will put them on our website in the members only section.”
The digitized newspaper will also be available at the branch on a designated computer where visitors may look at them.
If the digitization team has time before the scanner needs to be returned to the Ontario Ancestors’ head office, they will finish scanning the remaining Nugget issues up to 1947. Due to copyright laws, digitized issues published after 1929 will only be available to view by members and visitors at the branch, not online.
The Nipissing District Branch covers the Districts of Nipissing, Parry Sound and Timiskaming.
