By Julien Cuny ’17
One of Scranton’s defining features is its rich history of industry, as evidenced by the city’s shared name with steel magnate George W. Scranton. Recently, the Weinberg Memorial Library collaborated with the Scranton Public Library, the Lackawanna Historical Society, the University of Scranton History Department and student volunteers to preserve the personal letters of this famous Scrantonian, as well as hundreds of other documents related to the Scranton family.
Participants in the Scranton Family Papers Scanathon provided a valuable public service by preserving fragile primary sources for future generations. Over the course of the two-day event, volunteers successfully digitized more than 600 pages of letters related to George W. Scranton. In addition to digitizing letters, volunteers and staff also created descriptive metadata for future researchers, including the date, addressee, location, author and transcription for each scanned letter. Scholars will be able to access this resource for free through the Weinberg Library.
