The QR code will take you to the library's archives of Wrangell newspapers going back to 1898.
After more than five years of work, Wrangell's newspapers going back to the Fort Wrangel News in June 1898 (when the town was spelled with one l) are now available in a searchable online database.
And it's free.
The website, which went live on Wednesday, Dec. 11, is owned and managed by the Irene Ingle Public Library.
"This incredible resource brings over 6,000 issues together in one convenient location, providing a powerful tool for researchers, families and anyone curious about Wrangell's rich history to dive into the stories that shaped our community," said Sarah Scambler, library director.
"Users can browse, sort, download and search by keyword, making it easy to uncover Wrangell's vibrant past," Scambler said.
The archives feature The Fort Wrangel News (1898), Stikeen River Journal (1898-1899), Alaska Sentinel (1902-1909) and Wrangell Sentinel (1909-present).
The website is at wrangellnewspapers.andornot.net or scan the QR code that accompanies this story.
The project started in 2019 when the library received an $8,250 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to digitize Wrangell's earliest newspapers, 1898 through 1956. "Valerie Ní hÉideáin and Margaret Villarma played a key role in securing the funding and working on the digitization efforts," Scambler explained.
With help from the Alaska State Library and the National Digital Newspaper Program, the 1898-1956 pages were posted on Chronicling America, a free national database of historic newspapers, in 2022.
Phase 2 began in December 2022 and was made possible by a $17,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation secured by Larry Persily (the current publisher of the Sentinel) on behalf of the Friends of the Library.
Additional support came from the Juneau Community Foundation, the Friends of the Library, local organizations, community members and Persily's own contributions totaling nearly $10,000.
"This project was a monumental effort involving many moving parts, but the result is worth it. Wrangell's entire newspaper history is now preserved in one place and will be updated annually to ensure continued access to our town's ongoing story," Scambler said.
The work included converting every page of every paper into a digital image, then uploading the files and constructing the search engine.
The Sentinel's Front Street office houses bound volumes of its old editions going back to the start of the newspaper's history, but those books are deteriorating and the older pages are literally crumbling, Persily said.
"When I started with the Sentinel more than 40 years ago, we bought a microfilm viewer to look through the reels of film, but that was only marginally better than turning pages one at a time," he said.
"The library project will preserve all of the papers as digital images for everyone to see, whether it's to look up a family member's high school sports accomplishments or news from City Hall."
The database was built and is maintained by Vancouver, British Columbia-based Andornot Consulting, which specializes in software, hosting and consulting for libraries, archives and museums.
The database will be updated annually with each year's Sentinels.
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