INDIANAPOLIS—Documents, pictures, recordings and other materials that can help tell the story of the people of Indianapolis and Marion County are being collected from organizations and businesses to be digitized. The city’s bicentennial is in 2020, and the plan is to collect as much historic information as possible.
The Community Digitization Project is a collaboration of the Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis Public Library, IUPUI University Library, and University of Indianapolis. The CDP is planning a 10-year program to make digital copies of historical materials held by all kinds of Indianapolis organizations and to publish the digital files on the Web.
The first step is to find major collections of materials and assess the size and condition of each collection. Items that are being collected include event programs, minutes of meetings, annual reports, photos or film of events and individuals, posters and flyers, unique objects such as signs and statues.
The Mayor’s Neighborhood Liaisons are helping the CDP identify key organizations and send them the CDP’s survey questionnaire. Anyone can also fill out and submit an online version of the form on the CDP website at www.indypl.org/communitydigitization