The microfilm reader at the Seward Memorial Library uses a series of pegs, dials, buttons, lights and lenses to magnify tiny images of newspaper pages onto a lighted screen for viewers to browse. The library is seeking donations from the community to help convert its 243 reels of microfilm into a searchable online database that can be accessed anywhere in the world.
Research is about to become a whole lot easier at the Seward Memorial Library.
The library is working with Advantage Preservation to convert 243 reels of microfilm — more than a century of history — into a searchable online database.
Seward Memorial Library Director Becky Baker said preserving local history is important for several reasons.
“Our patrons use the past newspapers for genealogy, for research on past businesses, for looking up old sports trivia, for many things. This particular project of putting the films of newspapers online will provide access to this same information to people no matter where they are in the world; they will just need to access the internet,” Baker said.
Currently, the library maintains a series of microfilm reels and a microfilm reading machine in its lower level genealogy room, along with hundreds of books, cemetery records and other documents available for the public to peruse.
Each reel consists of a thin layer of polyester-based film with mini images of each newspaper page printed on it. The film is run through the machine, lit from underneath and magnified onto a computer monitor-like screen. From there, users can rotate the image, scroll from page to page and print what they find.
That process takes time, and the film reels are delicate.
The online database will allow users to speed up that process and more easily find what they need.
“The big bonus is that it’s searchable, so you don’t have to spend hours visually scanning through a reel,” library assistant Megan Boggs said. “You can type in a keyword, like a person’s name. It makes genealogical research faster.”
The library is sending its reels to Advantage Preservation, a company that scans the film and digitizes it so that it will appear like a newspaper page. The company adds an optical character recognition search feature, which includes filters like first and last name, years and other keywords.
“They will no longer be required to come into the library to do their own research, once we get all the films online,” Baker said.
The project will cost the library at least $30,000, or about $125 per reel.
That’s where the community comes in.
The Seward Library Foundation has agreed to match up to $15,000 of new donations, but it is asking community members to contribute the other half of the necessary funding by making a donation of any size or by sponsoring a reel for $125.
“We are excited about this project and hope that everyone in Seward County, both long-time residents and those new to the area, will feel the same. We are proud to live here and look forward to having our county’s history available to everyone who desires to learn more about us,” Baker said.
The reels contain 144 years of history, including birth and wedding announcements, obituaries contest and election results, business promotions, birthdays and anniversaries and coverage of graduations, sports, clubs and civic groups, personal accomplishments and everything else printed in local newspapers.
The Foundation is asking community members to think about significant events in their lives that were in the newspaper and to sponsor the reel from that year. Donors will be recognized online and in the library’s genealogy room unless they request to remain anonymous.
Donations are tax-deductible and may be mailed to Seward Library Foundation, P.O. Box 42, Seward, NE 68434, along with an indication of which reel you would like to sponsor.
For a list of available reels, visit www.sewardlibraryfoundation.org/reels.
The library’s microfilm collection includes images of 22 different newspapers throughout Seward County from 1870 to 2014. Publications include the Beaver Crossing Bugle, Beaver Crossing Times, Blue Valley Blade, Blue Valley Record (Milford), The Echo (Beaver Crossing), Garland Herald,
Germantown Gleaner, Goehner News, The Independent Examiner (Beaver Crossing), Milford Monitor, Milford Review, Milford Times, Pleasant Dale Quiz, Seward Citizen, Seward County Independent, Seward County Tribune, Seward Journal, Seward Weekly Reporter, Staplehurst Sentinel, Tamora Lyre,
Tamora Register and Utica Sun.
“We thank the Seward County Independent for granting us permission to duplicate past issues of newspapers online, for the SCI as we know it today and also for the others newspapers they have purchased throughout the years,” Baker said.
Visit seward.advantage-preservation.com to see reels already online. More information is available at the library.
Baker said the library will still accommodate those who prefer to research on film at the library.
“We will keep the microfilm reader and film reels here as long as the machine continues to function, and certainly until all the reels are online,” she said.
