The Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room at the Library has hundreds of newspaper microfilm reels covering Bath history from 1820 to present day. Visitors have access to view and print from the reels on a microfilm reader, but these thousands of pages of newspaper film are almost entirely unsearchable. In addition to the limited search capacity of microfilm, the Library’s technology to view it is becoming increasingly outdated and will, eventually, be difficult if not impossible to service in the future. There are 220 reels of the Bath Daily Times, with an expected cost for digitization of $40,000. Unlike the Bath Independent, the Bath Daily Times is largely unavailable online. If the History Room provided digital access to the Bath Daily Times, it would be an incredible, free resource not only for PFL patrons but also for outside users with a love of Bath history. Digitizing the microfilm will offer access by countless patrons who have previously hit a research wall when confronted by hundreds of microfilm reels – whether in person or remotely.
We reached our first goal of $10,000 in April 2023 and were able to digitize the first 40 years of the Bath Daily Times from January 1869 to December 1909. Please check out the Bath Daily Times Community History Archive here.
