USNP: Oregon

What is USNP: Oregon?

The U.S. Newspaper Project: Oregon (USNP: Oregon) was part of the United States Newspaper Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The goal of the project is to preserve and make accessible U.S. newspaper holdings in all of the states and trust jurisdictions. Oregon is one of the final contributors to the project, under the direction of the University of Oregon Libraries. The USNP: Oregon was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the University of Oregon Library. The Library of Congress provides technical support for the program. For information about USNP work in other states, see the Library of Congress page. Beginning in 1994, USNP: Oregon staff cataloged the holdings of the University of Oregon's microfilmed newspapers, and surveyed the state to locate additional titles and newspaper collections. In April 1999, NEH awarded additional funds for the next phase of the project: microfilming of the newly located titles and refilming of several important Oregon titles for which only poor quality film exists. The grant project ended on July 31, 2002. Cataloging and microfilming of Oregon newspapers is now part of the normal work of the library.

What did the Project accomplish?

In brief, the USNP requires a regional search to discover all holdings of newspapers published within the United States, access through traditional library cataloging and related information dissemination processes, and preservation through microfilming. (Why microfilm? Digitization of the newspapers and additional enhanced access tools are not encompassed in the scope of the USNP. Improved access technology will be implemented at UO as the technology becomes more stable and more affordable.) USNP: Oregon surveyed the state to locate all stashes of newspapers, whether old or new, published here or in other states, known or unknown. All the newspapers are being fully cataloged and will be searchable on national databases including OCLC's Worldcat, the Oregon Regional Union List of Serials (ORULS), the union catalog of Oregon Higher Education (Orbis), and the University of Oregon's catalog, Janus. Project staff inventory the newspapers to identify missing issues, and try to assemble complete runs of each title. Microfilming is performed as needed on materials unearthed during the project. When the project is complete, researchers will be able to sit down at a terminal, search the national database, and know exactly what US newspapers still exist and how they may be accessed. USNP: Oregon also brought new staff, high productivity, and national standards in microfilming to the region.

What is the current state of Oregon newspapers?

Oregon is relatively fortunate to have had a systematic newspaper collection and microfilming project in place since 1952. The Oregon Newspaper Microfilming Project was established at the University of Oregon Library in collaboration with the Oregon Newspapers Publishing Association (ONPA). Although some newspapers are known to be as yet unfilmed, and others will undoubtedly be discovered, most Oregon newspapers have already been preserved on microfilm.

Project Team

Ben Farrell, Newspaper Copy Cataloger.
Jon Hoyt, Newspaper Inventory Technician.
Lesli Larson, Project Microfilming Supervisor.
Christina Bissell, Daniel Bissell, Tiffany Lantz-Halbrook, KC McCarthy, Linda Sato: Microfilm Technicians.
Mark Watson, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services: Principal Investigator
Normandy Helmer, Coordinator of Preservation & Digital Services: Grant Administrator

Thanks to Alice Allen, who initiated the grant; to Elizabeth Scott, who served as the first catalog librarian; and to Karen Darling, who contributed heavily to the project in many ways from its inception. Thanks also to Elizabeth Findly, Frances Schoen, Rory Funke, Tom Stave, Joy Halliwell, and Patsy Duval, who laid the foundation for the USNP: Oregon through their years of work on the Oregon Newspaper Microfilming Project.

This project would not be possible without the financial support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information about NEH's Division of Preservation & Access, e-mail preservation@neh.gov or write: Division of Preservation and Access, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Room 411, Washington, D.C. 20506. (202) 606-8570 • Fax (202) 606-8639

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