The Broo
klyn Public Library is partnering with the Queens Library and the Metropolitan New York Library Council on a Knight Foundation grant to digilitize New York City’s rich history and cultural heritage.
Dubbed Culture in Transit, the joint project will deliver digitization equipment and expertise to smaller libraries and community organizations throughout the city in an effort to help neighborhoods define and catalog their histories.
In addition to digitizing institutional archives, Culture in Transit will help New Yorkers to preserve their own historical memorabilia, which they may then share in local collections and submit to the Digital Public Library of America to be accessible for free online.
“Culture in Transit will democratize the digitization process and preserve valuable artifacts of New York City’s heritage that might otherwise be lost,” said Ivy Marvel, manager of special collections for Brooklyn Public Library.
Culture in Transit was selected as one of 22 winners of the Knight News Challenge on Libraries. Launched by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in September 2014, the challenge funds library projects that build more knowledgeable communities and encourage innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and education.
“There is a growing demand for libraries to evolve their role and become more dynamic, living platforms, responsive to community needs,” said John S. Bracken, Knight Foundation vice president for media innovation. “The winners are working to reinvent the ways in which people experience the library, and providing citizens with the tools and information they require to contribute and strengthen our democracy.”
The Knight News Challenge accelerates media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information. Since 2007, Knight Foundation has reviewed more than 10,000 News Challenge applications and provided nearly $50 million in funding to 133 projects.
