Conducting research in a newspaper can be a tedious task scrolling through microfilm or looking at a year’s worth in a bounded edition. This search is limited to knowing a specific date in hopes of finding information. Margaret Jones Public Library has simplified the process by digitizing The Sylvester Local newspapers into an online version.
The library has about 128 years of Worth County newspapers on rolls of microfilm. The rolls, beginning in 1885 and up to 2013, have been converted to a digital format and are now available to everyone online at http://worthcounty.advantage-preservation.com
The newspapers are keyword searchable allowing users to find all mentions of a particular name, date or keyword with one simple search. “Not only can you search these historical newspapers, you can browse them exactly as they were printed with photographs, headlines, articles, advertisements and more,” states Leigh Wiley, library director. These historic newspapers offer a wealth of data about civic, political, cultural and social events of the time period they document in Worth County. Births, marriages, obituaries, social events, sporting events, church activities and affiliations, legal notices, land sales, taxation, military service, and businesses are some of the types of information to be found in these newspapers.
Appreciation goes to Mr. John Porter, owner of The Sylvester Local, for granting copyright permission to complete this project. Funding for this $9,000 project was provided by Georgia Public Library Service, Worth County Historical Society, private donations, and the Library Board of Trustees.
Lynn Fowler (left) holds a bound version of the 1909 edition of The Sylvester Local and Leigh Wiley (right) shows the digitized version on her computer.