Full Text of HJR0038 95th General Assembly
HJ0038 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HJ0038 |
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Historic newspapers provide a record of the | 3 |
| social, political, economic, and cultural history of the State | 4 |
| and a window into local history and community life; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, The historic newspapers of Illinois are part of | 6 |
| the cultural and intellectual heritage of the citizens of | 7 |
| Illinois and constitute the premier source for the study of | 8 |
| Illinois history by students and scholars from the primary to | 9 |
| the post-graduate level; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library | 11 |
| (formerly the Illinois State Historical Library) has | 12 |
| microfilmed Illinois newspapers since the 1970s and retains | 13 |
| master negative film for all newspapers filmed; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Most of the original newspapers filmed by the | 15 |
| Illinois State Historical Library and the Abraham Lincoln | 16 |
| Presidential Library no longer exist in print format; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, Newspapers microfilmed prior to the establishment | 18 |
| of preservation microfilming standards in the 1980s are at risk | 19 |
| of loss through deterioration; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, Digitization of historic newspapers from |
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| microfilm revolutionizes access to this material, producing a | 2 |
| digital replica of the original newsprint, fully searchable by | 3 |
| keyword and browsable by date, available to anyone, anywhere | 4 |
| with access to a computer; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Digitization provides a long-term preservation | 6 |
| solution for newspapers through the application of digital | 7 |
| preservation standards, including redundant backup and | 8 |
| storage, refreshment, migration, emulation, and other digital | 9 |
| asset management strategies; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has received more than $5 | 11 |
| million in federal funds since 1988 through the United States | 12 |
| Newspaper Program (administered by the National Endowment for | 13 |
| the Humanities) to inventory and preserve on microfilm our | 14 |
| newspaper heritage; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, The National Digital Newspaper Program builds on | 16 |
| the investment of the United States Newspaper Program with the | 17 |
| proposed digitization of newspapers from all fifty states for | 18 |
| inclusion in the American Chronicle digital repository at the | 19 |
| Library of Congress; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, Digitization of historic newspapers is also | 21 |
| supported by other major funding agencies such as the Institute | 22 |
| for Museum and Library Services and the Illinois State Library; |
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| and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, The American library community is continuously | 3 |
| developing and refining best practices for the digitization of | 4 |
| newspapers from microfilm; and
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| WHEREAS, Digitization of newspapers from microfilm | 6 |
| requires duplication of the master negative for use in | 7 |
| scanning; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and its | 9 |
| parent body, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, have | 10 |
| shown reluctance to make negative film available for | 11 |
| duplication so that other institutions might digitize the | 12 |
| Illinois newspaper heritage; and
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| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois upholds the right of its | 14 |
| citizens to have full access to information, as expressed in | 15 |
| the "Guiding Principles for Illinois Libraries" of the Illinois | 16 |
| State Library; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 19 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Abraham Lincoln | 20 |
| Presidential Library be encouraged to share these cultural | 21 |
| assets with the citizens of the State of Illinois by making the |
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| master negative microfilm of Illinois newspapers available for | 2 |
| duplication for use in digitization projects by Illinois | 3 |
| libraries and adhering to the best practices and responsible | 4 |
| stewardship; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to the Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln | 7 |
| Presidential Library and the Board of Trustees of the Illinois | 8 |
| Historical Preservation Agency.
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