The Project

Galena Public Library, with funding from the Galena Foundation and private donors is digitizing historic issues of the Galena Gazette and other local historic newspapers to increase public access to and preservation of the rich history of Galena and Jo Daviess County. Priority for digitization is given to those papers in the greatest physical disrepair and therefore greatest need of preservation. Thus far, we have digitized or are in the process of digitizing the Galena Daily Gazettes from 1870 to 1929.

Digitization is performed by the staff at Northern Micrographics (NM) in La Crosse, WI. Newspapers are boxed in archival boxes and transported to La Crosse by library staff and authorized volunteers. NM then transfers the digital images to hard drives, one of which is retained by the Library, and one of which is sent to the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). UIUC staff then process the images and put them into their collection (see link below) for public access by anyone with an internet or data connection. The boxed newspapers are returned to the Library and stored in their archival boxes in the library’s locked archival room, not to be touched or handled further.

Accessing Digitized Issues

Go to https://idnc.library.illinois.edu. Click on “Jo Daviess” on the map. Select Galena Daily Gazette or The Galena Tribune. You may browse issues by date or search for specific names, places, etc. Check back as more issues are being added all the time!

Donating

Each year of newspaper costs approximately $1,000 to digitize. We have 96 more volumes/years of newspaper that we would like to digitize, meaning $96,000 more to raise. If you would like to contribute to the digitization cause, checks can be made payable to Galena Public Library with “Gazette Digitization” in the memo line. You will find a donor form here. We thank you for your support and consideration!