HJ0038 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0038 LRB095 11349 KXB 32504 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Historic newspapers provide a record of the social, political, economic, and cultural history of the State and a window into local history and community life; and

WHEREAS, The historic newspapers of Illinois are part of the cultural and intellectual heritage of the citizens of Illinois and constitute the premier source for the study of Illinois history by students and scholars from the primary to the post-graduate level; and

WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (formerly the Illinois State Historical Library) has microfilmed Illinois newspapers since the 1970s and retains master negative film for all newspapers filmed; and

WHEREAS, Most of the original newspapers filmed by the Illinois State Historical Library and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library no longer exist in print format; and

WHEREAS, Newspapers microfilmed prior to the establishment of preservation microfilming standards in the 1980s are at risk of loss through deterioration; and

WHEREAS, Digitization of historic newspapers from microfilm revolutionizes access to this material, producing a digital replica of the original newsprint, fully searchable by keyword and browsable by date, available to anyone, anywhere with access to a computer; and

WHEREAS, Digitization provides a long-term preservation solution for newspapers through the application of digital preservation standards, including redundant backup and storage, refreshment, migration, emulation, and other digital asset management strategies; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has received more than $5 million in federal funds since 1988 through the United States Newspaper Program (administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities) to inventory and preserve on microfilm our newspaper heritage; and

WHEREAS, The National Digital Newspaper Program builds on the investment of the United States Newspaper Program with the proposed digitization of newspapers from all fifty states for inclusion in the American Chronicle digital repository at the Library of Congress; and

WHEREAS, Digitization of historic newspapers is also supported by other major funding agencies such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the Illinois State Library; and

WHEREAS, The American library community is continuously developing and refining best practices for the digitization of newspapers from microfilm; and

WHEREAS, Digitization of newspapers from microfilm requires duplication of the master negative for use in scanning; and

WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and its parent body, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, have shown reluctance to make negative film available for duplication so that other institutions might digitize the Illinois newspaper heritage; and

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois upholds the right of its citizens to have full access to information, as expressed in the "Guiding Principles for Illinois Libraries" of the Illinois State Library; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library be encouraged to share these cultural assets with the citizens of the State of Illinois by making the master negative microfilm of Illinois newspapers available for duplication for use in digitization projects by Illinois libraries and adhering to the best practices and responsible stewardship; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Historical Preservation Agency.