Lilley Library Preserves Historic Student Newspapers
"In Grateful Appreciation: We Thank You Mrs. Behrend," reads an inaugural headline in the first-ever issue of The Nittany Cub, the original name of the student newspaper at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, which opened its doors in 1948. Since then, the college's John M. Lilley Library has been collecting copies of the publication, known today as The Behrend Beacon.
Now a portion of the Lilley Library's newspaper archives are accessible online, following the completion of a digitization project by Penn State University Libraries' digitization and preservation department. Users of the libraries' online resources can read, browse and search issues of the Penn State Behrend newspaper from the fall of 1948 through 1989.
"The Lilley Library feels it is important to preserve all Penn State Behrend records," said Richard Hart, director of the Lilley Library. "This project enables us to honor the history of Penn State Behrend's student newspaper and revamp the way these historical issues are viewed, read and archived."
The digital archive database allows users to view past issues in their entirety, including all photographs, advertisements and editorial cartoons, as they would have in the original publication. Articles can be printed and e-mailed easily. Additional functions allow users to create personal collections of articles and images to be saved and accessed later.
The digital records can be accessed through the Lilley Library's Web site at http://www.pserie.psu.edu/academic/library/index.htm online.
The weekly newspaper was established as the college's first official student body publication on October 26, 1948. Throughout the years, it has seen several name changes, including The Nittany Cub (1948-71), Behrend Collegian (1971-84), Penn State Behrend Collegian (1984-88), Collegian (1988-93), The Behrend College Collegian (1993-98), and The Behrend Beacon (1998-present).
The newspaper archiving process began in November 2005 using backfiles of The Behrend Beacon image database to create microfilm copies. After microfilming, this internet-archiving project began in 2006. Future plans for the project include adding recent years' newspapers and filling in older, missing issues. The Behrend Beacon archives add to the growing number of digital newspaper databases provided by Penn State University Libraries.
Funding for the digitization and creation of the online image database was made possible by the Verna Lombard Endowment. In 2003, Penn State Behrend received an endowment of $315,000, which was donated by the estate of the late Verna Lombard and designated for the college’s Lilley Library. Lombard was a longtime local school teacher who had no previous relationship with Penn State Behrend. It is thought that her love of books and education prompted the gift.