Local B.C. newspaper gets special digital treatment

Local newspapers have long been the historical report for community events of all stripes. But how can physical copies be easily accessed in a fast-paced digital world?

In one community in British Columbia, a project has begun to preserve the region’s historical record.

Recently, the Oliver & District Heritage Society recently began a grant-funded project to better preserve the community’s historic newspapers and make them more accessible for future use.

This spring, the ODHS received almost $8,000 from the B.C. History Digitization Program at UBC’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre for the purpose of digitizing a large donation of community newspapers received from the Oliver Chronicle in 2018.

The 4,417 newspapers, which span the 1940s to 2010s, contain vital information about Oliver people, places, and events, and are frequently requested by researchers.

You can read more about their efforts in the Penticton Herald here.