Digitized 'Lancaster Farming' included in U of Illinois resource

The University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne is adding a valuable Penn State resource to its agricultural newspaper collection. "Lancaster Farming," the leading Northeast and Mid-Atlantic farm newspaper, has been published weekly since 1955 and is available in the Penn State University Libraries in print, on microfilm (from 1955 to 1988) and digitally (1955 to 1983). The digitized resource can be read, searched and browsed at http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/lancasterfarming/Client.asp?skin=lancasterfarming&AW=1251390243583&AppName=2 online.

"The University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne started a digital agricultural newspaper collection and asked if they could include 'Lancaster Farming,'" said Life Sciences Library head Amy Paster.

The UIUC project is called "Farm, Field, and Fireside" and contains historically significant U.S. farm weeklies published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. "Farm, Field, and Fireside" can be viewed at http://www.library.illinois.edu/dnc/Default/Skins/FFF/Client.asp?Skin=FFF&AppName=2&AW=1251390328479 online.

Paster said the Libraries aim to digitize more of the newspaper beyond 1983. The initial digitization project was funded through the Paterno Library Endowment and the state through legislation requiring the four statewide Library Resource Centers to create online resources for the citizens of Pennsylvania. Digitization was coordinated by the University Libraries’ Digitization and Preservation Department under the leadership of Sue Kellerman, the Judith O. Sieg Chair for Preservation, in consultation with Paster.

"We will hopefully be able to digitize more of the paper as the publisher and funding allows," said Paster.

For more information, call or e-mail Paster, 814-865-3708 or alp4@psu.edu.

Last Updated September 28, 2009