Digitizing Vermont History

Vermont Historical Society Librarian Paul Carnahan using an overhead scanner purchased with NEH funding. Image courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society.

As the only organization responsible for representing the history of the entire state of Vermont, the Vermont Historical Society adopted the expansion of digital resources and virtual access to its collections as an essential part of its strategic plan in 2019. In 2020, with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the need to digitize resources became all the more important as researchers were unable to travel and visit the historical society’s archive. With support from an NEH CARES grant and, later, a SHARP grant, the society has been able to drastically expand virtual access to its resources while maintaining jobs during a financially difficult time.

Owned and embellished by Harry L. Hall (1878-1956), night watchman for Vermont Marble Company during the 1935-1936 strike. He decorated the nightstick with events from the strike. This object was cataloged and made accessible online as part of both the CARES and SHARP grants. Image courtesy of the Vermont Historical Center.

The NEH CARES grant enabled the society to retain 8 staff members, which was especially significant at a time when the organization was forced to close to the public, missing out on entrance fees and fundraising events. The grant also helped the society upgrade its cataloging system and website. The staff were quickly able to add 2600 items into an online catalog, add 500 digital scans, and put 60 new object records online, making the society’s collection accessible in a very short time. Both the stabilization of its staff during a difficult time and the adoption of new technology also contributed to building long term capacity in the organization.

An example from a collection of 46 illustrations of locomotives used in Vermont and on other railroads during the period 1848-1875 drawn by William Linsley (1852-1910) of Burlington, Vermont. These illustrations are also being scanned using the overhead scanner. They were too big to be scanned using our previous scanners.

A more recent NEH SHARP grant made with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act is helping the society continue this work while also making its digitized collections more diverse. Thinking through the implications of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, the society is making a concerted effort to represent Vermont history in a richer way. The society is creating a Vermont Black History database, as well as a Women’s History database, and is also working to put resources related to Abenaki history online. The purchase of an overhead scanner is helping the society digitize rare and delicate bound materials, continuing its effort to make its collections accessible from anywhere in the world.