* COMPLETED* Question re Trove Digitised Australian Papers

[MarieC]

It IS a wonderful resource, but Dee, sadly I believe that rumour is true, though to what extent I'm not sure.

I have been trying unsuccessfully to have the Toowoomba newspapers digitised.  Recently I've been informed by the Queensland State Library that there is no more funding for further digitisation, that money will have to be raised in the community if this is to occur, and that the digitisation programme may be suspended if money cannot be found to digitise more newspapers.  As it costs absolute megabucks to digitise newspapers, the whole thing is problematical.

I am hoping they will maintain the newspapers already there - I have no reason to believe this will not be the case - fingers crossed!

MarieC

[deeiluka]

That will be so sad, Marie.......      

Surely what is there will be still available.......the woork is done, after all......



Dee

[majm]

I have also heard the rumour about the funding....

Fairfax put up $1 million for the SMH to 1954 and that project has been finished for several months...  The AWW is currently being digitised, not sure who helped with that funding.

Like MarieC I have been trying to have a regional newspaper digitised, but alas, no funding available at present etc ...

My fingers are crossed, it is such a valuable resource, not just to family historians, but to anyone interested in any type of historic research ... eg
scientists looking for evidence of climate change can get a very good contemporary picture for most of rural Australia .... temperatures, rain fall reports, stock movements, etc
Uni students through to professors looking at political, social, economic developments through-out the western world can get so much info because even the early Sydney Gazette (from 1803) carried world news to the settlers

I'm sure there are many more reasons too !

Does anyone know who funded the GALE newspapers to get them online ?  or the US of A newspapers etc ....  I'm not sure who funded the NZ papers, but that also carries news from Australia, including family history items too, and there's regular updates as more and more NZ papers are digitised  ...
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

Red Post .... Hi Dee,  hopefully if they do lose their funding, they will have some in reserve to allow for the volunteers who have been transcribing various articles ... Fingers crossed, cause I've been trying to help with that aspect.

Cheers,  JM

[MarieC]

You are absolutely spot on, JM!  The cost of digitisation means that you really need very wealthy people like the Fairfax family to fund it, and these persons are hard to find in regional areas.  There may be the odd one or two, but their interests run in other directions! 

I always thought that Gale organised their own funding, and recoup it through licences etc - user pays.  I could be wrong, though!

Ho hum...

MarieC