| The Acorn Archive | About the Project |
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The digitization of Drew University’s student newspaper, the Drew Acorn, is a joint project of the Drew University Library and the The Digital Humanities Summer Institute. The project was proposed by a student team of Acorn writers and editors and executed with library faculty, staff, and student support. In digitizing the student newspaper, the library hopes to offer new ways to work with Drew’s own institutional record and explore new possibilities for research and scholarship.
Q: These images vary in quality, why is that?
A: The digitization was completed from the library’s collection of microfilm reels. The quality varies from film to film. Since the reels span from 1928 to 2004, there are inconsistencies in filming techniques as well as some wear to the film itself.
Q: Why didn’t you digitize the newspaper directly from the paper copies?
A: Digitizing from the microfilm was the most efficient and economical option. Since the print editions are held in the University Archives, our primary goal was to digitize for discovery and access, not preservation. Issues that were not microfilmed will eventually be digitized from the print editions.
Q: I’m searching for keywords and not finding matches.
A: The process that allows for full-text searching, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), can be imperfect. The quality of the scan impacts the accuracy of the text recognition. It’s our aim to eventually correct the OCR but this is a labor and resource-intensive effort.
Q: There is content in the Drew Acorn that is offensive and problematic, why is this on display?
A: We recognize that the Drew Acorn contains content that some may find offensive. The Drew University Archives preserves the University’s history for teaching and research. We seek to make this history transparent and to make our collections available.
Q: I found an error in the issue date or missing page, etc.
A: Please let us know. Corrections can be sent to dreay (at) drew.edu
Q: Where can I find print copies?
A: Print volumes are available in the University Archives and Special Collections.
Q: What’s next?
A: We hope that this project engages students, faculty, staff, and alumni with a collection of institutional interest. Our ultimate goal is to position the resources for expanded modes of scholarship using digital methods and tools (timelines, exhibits, corpus creation). Take a look at some of the great work students have completed so far: The Drew Acorn Archives