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Kaatscast: the Catskills PodcastAuthor: Silver Hollow Audio
Kaatscast: the Catskills Podcast is a biweekly series featuring Catskills culture, history, sustainability, local interviews, literature, and the arts. Shows are hosted by Brett Barry and produced by Silver Hollow Audio, in the heart of the Catskills. Subscribe and experience what reviewers have called delightfully informative storytelling with great production quality. Voted Best Regional Podcast three years in a row. Episode archives, transcripts, and a robust search engine at kaatscast.com. Enjoy! Language: en-us Genres: Places & Travel, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Small Town Papers, Big Digital Archive: NYS Historic Newsapers
Episode 160
Tuesday, 13 January, 2026
New York State Historic Newspapers Project with Chuck HenryEpisode OverviewDive into the largest state newspaper archive in the country! Chuck Henry, Project Lead for New York State Historic Newspapers, takes us through this incredible digital repository containing over 1,200 newspaper titles, 1.5 million editions, and more than 15 million pages—all available free of charge.GuestChuck HenryIT Coordinator, Northern New York Library NetworkProject Lead, New York State Historic NewspapersWhat You'll Learn🗞️ How the project transformed microfilm archives into a searchable digital collection🗞️ The breadth of the collection: from 1725 to 2025, covering all 62 New York counties🗞️ Tips and tricks for searching the database effectively🗞️ Why this matters for genealogists, historians, students, and curious locals🗞️ The difference between this free public resource and commercial databases🗞️ How libraries and historical societies can get their collections digitizedKey Topics Discussed📰 The Problem with Microfilm📰 Chuck explains why libraries desperately needed a better solution than basement microfilm readers and hours of manual searching.📰 Building the Archive📰 Started in 2004 as Northern New York Historic Newspapers📰 Expanded statewide in 2014📰 Now adds approximately 500,000 new pages every year📰 Second largest freely available newspaper archive in the U.S. (behind Library of Congress)What's in the Collection⌨️ 1,200+ newspaper titles from across New York State⌨️ Earliest: New York Gazette (February 1725)⌨️ Most recent: Freeport High School newspaper (June 2025)⌨️ Includes Catskills papers like the Catskill Mountain News, Delaware County Dairyman, Gilboa Monitor, and Callicoon Local Record⌨️ Multiple languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, Gaelic, and Native languagesSearch Tips from the Expert🖱️Start with county-based browsing using the interactive map🖱️Use Boolean search operators and quotation marks for precise results🖱️Try alternative spellings for older papers with imperfect OCR🖱️Browse by specific dates to see multiple newspapers' coverage of historical events🖱️Create a free account to save searches and make notesWho Uses It👉 Genealogists researching births, deaths, marriages, and property transfers👉 Amateur and professional historians👉 Students from K-12 through university level👉 Authors and journalists👉 Local communities preserving their heritageThe ProcessLibraries and historical societies can submit their collectionsFunding often available through Empire State Library Network councilsScanning done in-house in Potsdam, NYOCR technology makes everything searchableOriginal microfilm preserved as permanent backupNotable Finds MentionedDesperate fight with a bear (Stanford Mirror, 1876)Bootleg liquor tragedy (Delaware Republican, 1926)Restaurant ads from the 1970sThe "Spiedie Sandwich" historical marker projectCopyright and AccessContent pre-1920s is public domain1920s-1960s content varies by copyright statusPost-1960s content requires written permissionEverything available free of charge—no paywalls or subscriptionsResourcesNew York State Historic NewspapersNew York HeritageGet InvolvedLibraries and historical societies can contact the Northern New York Library Network about digitization servicesCreate a free account to save searches and researchOptional monthly newsletter available🎙️ Production CreditsKaatscast is a biweekly production of Silver Hollow AudioHost, producer: Brett BarryTranscription: Jerome KazlauskasMore at kaatscast.comSponsored by The Mountain Eagle Mystery BonusDo you know where the Mountain Eagle's missing archives are? Previous owners either destroyed them or the microfilm is languishing in an undisclosed ... basement? Contact the show if you have leads!
