LIU's New Digital Archive Offers Insight Into Long Island History

GLEN COVE, NY — A new digital trove containing thousands of historical documents about Long Island is now available to the public.

The archive, called "Digitizing Local History Sources," was unveiled Thursday by Long Island University's Palmer School of Library and Information Science. It houses more than 51,000 images from 40 participating historical societies across Long Island — and was funded by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation (RDLGF).

"RDLGF's partnership with the LIU Palmer School of Library and Information Science offers students hands-on archival training while introducing our historic stewards to the best practices in handling and accessing their incredible resources," Kathryn M. Curran, the foundation's executive director, said. "Having these collections available online will now easily expand research capabilities into Long Island's rich heritage."

The collection took four years to create and includes:

• A diary of a 1920s schoolgirl
• The calendar of a World War II school superintendent
• 17th-century deeds
• Photos of early 1900s automobile races
• Scrapbooks documenting the destruction caused by the Hurricane of 1938

All of these records — and more — can be accessed by visiting this link.