The Dover, New Hampshire Public Library has been awarded a $5,189 Conservation License Plate grant by the New Hampshire State Library for its project to microfilm, and thus preserve, historic New Hampshire newspapers. Money derived from the sale of special license plates in the state will be awarded to the library.
The newspapers to be preserved, all published in Dover, include The Morning Star from 1826 to 1833, The Dover Daily Republican from 1880 to 1891, and The State Press/The Press from 1876 to 1880.
The newspapers are virtually unusable due to their fragile and brittle condition. These are the only copies that exist in the state and these early newspapers can be indispensable resources for researchers and genealogists.
The Historical and Genealogical Collection at the Dover Public Library, begun in 1900 by a local genealogical society, includes over 6,000 items of local history and welcomes researchers from all over the country. The addition of these Dover newspapers in microfilm format will further enhance the collection and add significantly to the body of historic newspapers on microfilm which the library has currently.
You can read more at the Dover Public Library's blog at http://doverpl.blogspot.com/2009/09/library-receives-moose-plate-grant.html.
I hope they will also digitize the newspapers in order to make them more widely available.
The New Hampshire State Library has awarded a total of $46,325 in Moose Plate Conservation grants this year to 10 New Hampshire libraries and archives.
