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History at Your Fingertips

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    History at Your Fingertips

    By USS Constitution Museum | Log Lines | Comments are Closed | 28 September, 2016 | 7

    One of the USS Constitution Museum’s primary goals is to encourage scholarship, research, and new interpretations of USS Constitution‘s history by making our collections available to the public. In pursuit of this goal, we recently partnered with Digital Commonwealth to digitize and provide free online access to our extensive War of 1812 collection.

    Digital Commonwealth is a statewide consortium of libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies from across Massachusetts that provides online access to thousands of cultural heritage materials. Our War of 1812 manuscripts, pamphlets, rare books and more are being scanned by a team at the Boston Public Library and made available through Digital Commonwealth and the Internet Archive. Soon these items will also be searchable through the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). To date, Digital Commonwealth has digitized 385 items from our collection and that number continues to grow.

    From these platforms, users can explore the collections and search for specific items. Each item record includes detailed object metadata and high-resolution images with zoom function. The records and images can also be shared via email and social media. Below is an example of items from the Isaac Hull Papers, 1791-1862, which are on loan to the Museum from a private collection.

     

    search-pageAt the Internet Archive, users can leaf through the Museum’s bound War of 1812 materials, including rare books, pamphlets, logs, and journals. Each record includes high-resolution images that are text-searchable and can be downloaded in multiple formats. Below is a peek at the private journal of Midshipman Isaac Mayo, 1809-1819.

     

    internetarchivemayojournal

     

     

    To learn more, visit our collections online at the following links:

    Digital Commonwealth
    https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/institutions/commonwealth:kk91h122n

    Internet Archive
    https://archive.org/details/ussconstitutionmuseum

    And stay tuned for more materials as we continue our partnership with Digital Commonwealth and offer expanded free and open access to our collections. This is just the beginning!

    – K. Monea

     

    Digital Commonwealth
    USS Constitution Museum

    USS Constitution Museum

    The USS Constitution Museum serves as the memory and educational voice of USS CONSTITUTION, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her. We seek to create a positive, memorable experience for both children and adults by inspiring within them a love for the freedom that CONSTITUTION symbolizes. We will share CONSTITUTION's contributions with a global audience, and we will strive to be the best museum possible based on scholarship and innovative ways of sharing CONSTITUTION's stories.

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    USS CONSTITUTION MUSEUM | Charlestown Navy Yard, Building 22, Charlestown, MA 02129 | 6174261812

    Mass Cultural Council
    Copyright © 2015 USS Constitution Museum. All Rights Reserved.
    • Visit
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Directions & Parking
      • Groups & Field Trips
      • Calendar of Events
      • Museum Map
      • Host an Event
      • In Our Neighborhood
      • Library Pass Program
    • Exhibits
      • Past Exhibits
      • Ship Model Show
      • The Model Shipwright Guild
      • Hands-On Areas
    • Discover + Learn
    • Educators
    • Shop
      • Shop Now
      • Buy a Membership
    • Support
      • Donate
      • Membership
      • USS Constitution Museum Gala
      • Memorial Bricks
      • Support Our Collections
      • Legacy Giving
      • Foundation Support
      • Amazon Smile
      • Host an Event
        • Approved Caterers
        • Guide to Hosting Functions and Special Events at the Museum
      • Donor Privacy Policy
    • About
      • Mission & History
        • Founders
        • National Awards
      • Board of Trustees
      • Publications
      • Family Learning Project
      • National Outreach
      • For Press & Media
      • Jobs & Volunteering
      • Contact Us
    USS Constitution Museum