[BCMA] Alder Grove Heritage Society Aldergrove Star Digitization Project Part One Now Online

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Date: 2 May 2023
Contact: Tami Quiring - President 
Direct Phone: 604.835.3627 
Direct Email:  <mailto:tquiring at shaw.ca> tquiring at shaw.ca 

ALDER GROVE HERITAGE SOCIETY ALDERGROVE STAR DIGITIZATION PROJECT PART ONE
NOW ONLINE

Aldergrove - In July 2021 former Aldergrove Star newspaper editor Kurt
Langmann donated a set of 29 microfilms to the Alder Grove Heritage Society
to augment the donation of physical copies of the 1957-2000 newspaper and
photographs by his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Rudi Langmann in 2003.

In December 2021, Alder Grove Heritage Society applied for and received
financial assistance from the Library British Columbia History Digitization
Centre Programme <https://ikblc.ubc.ca/initiatives/bcdigitinfo/>  (BCHDP) to
have the microfilms digitized by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at
UBC, for inclusion in UBC's Historic Newspaper Collection. The funding
covering $4163.77 of the total $6751.65 cost, with the remaining $2587.88
for the project very generously donated by Alder Grove Heritage Society's
supporters.

The completion of part one of the Aldergrove Star Digitization Project
enables anyone anywhere in the world with internet access the ability to
read past issues of our community's newspaper from 1957 through to the end
of 1991 via the UBC Open Library <https://open.library.ubc.ca/> , BC
Historic Newspapers Collection
<https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/alderstar> . The open
library collection at UBC is a valuable resource, and Alder Grove Heritage
Society is very grateful to both UBC and the Library British Columbia
History Digitization Centre for adding our Aldergrove Star collection and
making it accessible to everyone. 

"On behalf of my mother Inge Langmann, my late father Rudi Langmann, and the
Langmann family, I wish to express heartfelt thanks to the Alder Grove
Heritage Society and its donors and supporters for their work in making the
editions of The Aldergrove Star from the years 1957 onward, eventually to
the year 2000 available to the public via the internet at any time and from
anywhere," said retired Star editor Kurt Langmann. 

"I know it will bring back memories for many people, and many of these
memories will be other chapters not written down at the time but will be
sparked by these Star news stories for many readers as they are for me. Some
of the best stories never made it to print. I hope these stories are shared
before they are lost forever."

The second phase of this project involves scanning original copies of the
Aldergrove Star, January 1992 through to the end of 2000, a process much
more costly and labour intensive than digitizing the microfilms which have
been returned to our museum. The physical newspapers are now at UBC Library
undergoing preparation for Part 2 of the project.

Alder Grove Heritage Society has received funding from the BCHDP in the
amount of $10865.84 towards a total project cost of $16804.76, with the
balance of $5938.92 to be covered by the society and its supporters, whose
previous donations have given the society a good start on meeting its
financial obligation for Part 2. 

"The BC History Digitization Program is pleased to support the efforts of
the Alder Grove Heritage Society in digitizing and preserving the Aldergrove
Star newspaper," said Mimi Lam, BCHDP co-ordinator. "Projects like this
provide public online access to unique and valuable BC historical content in
the spirit of the program and the Barber Centre's mission. Congratulations
on the completion of the first phase of this project!"

 

Newspapers are an integral part of our history and the changes that our town
underwent from the middle of the 20th century to the beginning of the new
millennium, documenting everything from community and social events,
economics, agriculture, politics, opinions, crimes and punishment to
important milestones such as births, graduations, marriages, anniversaries
and deaths. Their accessibility to readers now and into the future ensures
that Aldergrove's stories and those of its citizens will stay alive well
into the future. It is also important to note that the Aldergrove Star is
fully searchable either as a whole or paper by paper.

"The UBC Library Digitization Centre has enjoyed working on this important
historical record and it has allowed us to add a significant body of
information to the BC Historical Newspapers collection," said Robert
Stibravy, Librarian, Digital Projects | Services Infrastructure Librarian,
Library Information Technology Management Unit, University of British
Columbia.

Projects such as this demonstrate the importance of community museums and
archives and the wealth of information they hold. The Alder Grove Heritage
Society's small band of volunteers has been working hard to catalogue, index
and scan the museum's archival holdings as it moves towards making its
collections available online.

There is still much work to be done, anyone with an interest in local
history is welcome to join the society in its endeavours and follow us on
Facebook or Instagram to see the society's progress. The Aldergrove
Community Museum & Archives is open Sundays from 12-4pm and we invite you to
visit us on Community Heritage Day, Saturday August 19 2023. Donations are
gratefully accepted, and as a registered non-profit charity, tax receipts
can be issued.

"Alder Grove Heritage Society is very excited to see this important project
come to fruition, and it could not have been done without the gift to the
society by the Langmann family of the Aldergrove Star collection, the hard
work of its volunteers, the generosity of its supporters and grants such as
the BCHDP," said Alder Grove Heritage Society president Tami Quiring.
"Taking these historic editions of the Aldergrove Star online is a big step
towards the society's goal of making Aldergrove's historic collections
accessible to anyone who has an interest in our community's heritage, and we
are very grateful for the ongoing support we receive."

For further information:

About UBC Library Open Collections: UBC Library's Open Collections include
digital photos, books, newspapers, maps, videos, theses and more. These
publicly-accessible collections are constantly growing and reflect the
research interests of the UBC community and beyond. UBC Library's Open
Collections are developed and maintained by the
<http://digitize.library.ubc.ca> Digitization Centre and
<https://circle.ubc.ca> cIRcle. All materials in Open Collections are openly
accessible to everyone and will be preserved for future generations. Email
us at library.opencollections at ubc.ca for further inquiries or visit
https://open.library.ubc.ca/

About the Library British Columbia History Digitization Programme: The
British Columbia History Digitization Program promotes increased access to
British Columbia's historical resources by providing matching funds to
undertake digitization projects that will result in free online access to
unique historical material from around the province.

The British Columbia History Digitization Program demonstrates the Learning
Centre's dedication to sharing knowledge and supporting education by making
local information resources available to people throughout the province and
beyond. Please contact Mimi Lam at bc.historydigitization at ubc.ca for further
information or visit https://ikblc.ubc.ca/initiatives/bcdigitinfo/

Alder Grove Heritage Society: A volunteer-run registered non-profit charity
in the province of British Columbia since 1990, its mandate includes
preserving and making accessible the multiple components that make up a
community's history such as documents, records, maps, photographs,
interviews, family stories and physical objects.
<https://www.aldergroveheritage.ca> https://www.aldergroveheritage.ca or
email for more information: learn at aldergroveheritage.
social media Facebook  <https://www.facebook.com/AlderGroveHeritageSociety>
https://www.facebook.com/AlderGroveHeritageSociety - Instagram:
@aldergrove_heritage. 

Photo Information, Credits and Download Links: 

1: Photo by Scott White. Subject: Kurt Langmann making use of the Aldergrove
Star microfilm to revisit his first newspaper-published photograph of the
Abbotsford Airshow, August 1967. 
 
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/osvx7xwgvelfxmo/Photo1-Credit-ScottWhite-Subject-
KurtLangmann.jpg?dl=0>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/osvx7xwgvelfxmo/Photo1-Credit-ScottWhite-Subject-K
urtLangmann.jpg?dl=0 

2: AGHS Screenshot of the same newspaper in photo 1, from the UBC Open
Library Historic Newspapers Collection
 
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/kxlouwk9772x6pk/Photo2-Credit-AGHS-Aldergrove%20S
tar%20Online%20At%20UBC%20BC%20Historic%20Newspapers.PNG?dl=0>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kxlouwk9772x6pk/Photo2-Credit-AGHS-Aldergrove%20St
ar%20Online%20At%20UBC%20BC%20Historic%20Newspapers.PNG?dl=0

3: Photo Credit: Alder Grove Heritage Society. Subject: Page 6 from The
Aldergrove News, 5 February 1959 is just one of the hundreds of pages now
available online in the UBC BC Historic Newspapers Collection.
 
<https://www.dropbox.com/s/cuh151it1c56jgm/Photo3-Credit-AGHS-Aldergrove%20N
ews-5February1959-Page6.jpg?dl=0>
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cuh151it1c56jgm/Photo3-Credit-AGHS-Aldergrove%20Ne
ws-5February1959-Page6.jpg?dl=0 

 

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