ResearchBuzz: FirehoseSlugger O’Toole: Navigating fraught legacies with trauma-informed archival practice. “The event featured a series of presentations and panel discussions from archivists, journalists, and historians, providing deep insights into how to navigate the fraught legacies of conflict contained within historical records.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/03/slugger-otoole-navigating-fraught-legacies-with-trauma-informed-archival-practice/
The Sun (Malaysia): Malaysia launches digital archive of British colonial records for public access. “The National Archives of Malaysia launches a digital collection of British Colonial Office records, offering over 1.1 million pages for historical research.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/28/the-sun-malaysia-malaysia-launches-digital-archive-of-british-colonial-records-for-public-access/
The Sun (Malaysia): Malaysia launches digital archive of British colonial records for public access
The Sun (Malaysia): Malaysia launches digital archive of British colonial records for public access. “The National Archives of Malaysia launches a digital collection of British Colonial Offic…
Irish Central: Ireland’s historical transport records now available online . “The platform includes a map-based search tool and a genealogical database of almost 7,000 names, enabling users to explore the stories of those who worked within, or were connected to, Ireland’s transport network.”
Ancient OriginsA famous king is missing from historical records, which led to the discovery of a royal family deleted by the Roman Empire. They didn't want people to know about them!
#history #king #romanempire #historicalrecords #royalfamily #Christianity #history
Full Interview here: https://members.ancient-origins.net/royal-lineage-jesus-izates-manu-king-edessa-king-jews-and-contender-emperor-rome
#history #king #romanempire #historicalrecords #royalfamily #Christianity #history
Full Interview here: https://members.ancient-origins.net/royal-lineage-jesus-izates-manu-king-edessa-king-jews-and-contender-emperor-rome
DrWeb“With New Grant, “On The Books” Uses AI To Make Historical Records More Accessible” – UNC University Libraries
With new grant, “On the Books” uses AI to make historical records more accessible
A $765,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation funds three case studies that will develop best practices for using AI in archival work.
September 25, 2025
The University Libraries’ On the Books initiative is expanding its scope and exploring how artificial intelligence can make it easier to find and use materials from the archives.
A $765,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation will support three case studies using AI to improve access to materials related to groups historically underrepresented in institutional collections. Previous grants from the Foundation allowed the University Libraries to investigate text mining and machine learning as a way to identify discriminatory language in historical statutes.
“The Mellon Foundation’s generous support continues to help us apply new technologies to archival documents, and to advance our understanding of them as a result,” said Vice Provost for University Libraries and University Librarian María R. Estorino. “Using AI ethically and responsibly to make collections machine readable opens up research possibilities that go far beyond what an individual scholar or archivist could ever accomplish alone.”
Read on to learn more about the next phase of On the Books: AI-Assisted Collections.
Archives like Wilson Special Collections Library are a rich resource for learning about our past. But many archival materials are hard for users to locate and contextualize because they lack the transcriptions, descriptions or metadata that would make them easily searchable.
Each case study in On the Books: AI-Assisted Collections brings together library experts and users to address this challenge. The Library team is working with two historians, as well as community stakeholders and other scholars, to find responsible and ethical approaches to using AI in the archives.
- Historian Antwain Hunter researches firearm use by Black Americans in the antebellum South. He will work with a team to find relevant materials and transcribe them using AI, making them easier to use and access.
- Historian Monica Martinez is an expert in civil and human rights. She will help with the development of textual datasets created from Texas statutes, which will then be used to identify Jim Crow and Juan Crow laws.
- Community partners and scholars will help the team develop processes for using AI to create descriptions and metadata for historical photos of Black Americans’ everyday lives. That data will make it easier to find and understand those photos — especially for users with visual impairments.
“All of these projects build on the same idea that has driven On the Books from the beginning,” said Head of Digital Research Services Amanda Henley, who is leading the project. “We want to identify thoughtful ways of using technology to expand access to information about communities that have historically been overlooked in archival records.”
“This kind of work is only meaningful when it can be put to use,” says co-PI Matthew Jansen. “That’s why working with scholars is so important. We hope the real-world lessons from this project will eventually make it easier for other archives and researchers to use similar generative AI techniques with their own collections.”
Continue/Read Original Article: https://library.unc.edu/news/with-new-grant-on-the-books-uses-ai-to-make-historical-records-more-accessible/ Referral Source: https://www.infodocket.com/2025/09/25/news-from-unc-university-libraries-with-new-grant-on-the-books-uses-ai-to-make-historical-records-more-accessible/
#AI #AmandaHenley #artificialIntelligence #Collections #GaryPrice #HistoricalRecords #History #infoDOCKET #Libraries #NorthCarolina #TheUniversityOfNorthCarolinaAtChapelHill #UNCLibraries
Purdue University: Forts to files, reimagined: MRCC brings historic weather data into the digital age. “The MRCC recently launched a searchable, downloadable archive of 19th-century weather records. Pulled from more than 450 U.S. observation stations, including over 350 that have undergone quality control through NOAA Climate Data Base Modernization (CDMP) funding, the project digitized […]
Northeast News (India): NIMHANS digitises India’s oldest mental health files, unlocks 130-year-old archives. “The National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences (NIMHANS) has launched an ambitious digital archive project, preserving and cataloguing one of the world’s largest collections of historical mental health records. The initiative, known as the NIMHANS Archiving Digital […]
Reclaim the Records: The FULL New York State Death Index, 1880-2017. “Reclaim The Records, a non-profit organization dedicated to government transparency and public access to historical records, proudly announces the court-ordered release of information from millions of New York State death records, spanning three centuries of New York’s vibrant history.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/06/05/reclaim-the-records-the-full-new-york-state-death-index-1880-2017/
Royal Irish Academy: Launch of the Ussher Bird Notes Digital Archive. “The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) are pleased to announce the official launch of the Ussher Bird Notes Digital Archive, a significant new resource for researchers, conservationists, and birding enthusiasts.”
Capital News (Kenya): UK delivers digitized archives of colonial era in Kenya. “The collection comprises 2,658 files and over 300,000 images, shedding light on various aspects of Kenya’s colonial history, including the Mau Mau uprising, the detention of freedom fighters, and intelligence dossiers on prominent figures involved in the independence struggle.”