Unlimited Priorities Negotiates Publishing Partnership between Accessible Archives and Vincennes University

By Unlimited Priorities on October 1, 2009 in Unlimited Priorities News

Malvern, PA (October 1, 2009) – Accessible Archives, Inc.©, a publisher of electronic full-text searchable historical databases, has announced the continuing expansion of its existing database, The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective, with the addition of a fourth part. The enhanced database is being renamed simply The Civil War.

The new part consists of several newspapers supplied by Vincennes University, Vincennes, Indiana, a comprehensive two-year college located in Southwestern Indiana offering a diverse set of majors.

The Civil War: A Midwestern Perspective. This collection consists of seven newspapers published in Indiana between 1855 and 1869. Thus, it provides pre-and post-Civil War information in addition to coverage of the war itself. Ownership varied between Democrats, Republicans and the Know-Nothings.

Vincennes Gazette (1855-1869)
Vincennes Western Sun (1856-1869)
The Old Post Union (1862: 5 months worth) – became The Vincennes Times
The Vincennes Times (1865-1866)
Stars & Stripes (1862: 2 issues)
Vincennes Courant (1855-1856)
News of the Day (1855-1857)

Several of these newspapers have never been microfilmed, therefore making online access to them as a result of this digitization project is even more significant. –Richard L. King

Coverage in relation to the Civil War is both informative and eclectic. In-depth articles discuss trade with foreign countries, and how those countries viewed the United States in light of the Civil War. There is information on specific industries of the time, such as the Oyster trade in New York. Slavery is an important topic, and countless editorials discuss pre- and post-war attitudes from both sides, as well as troop movements during the war. There is coverage of the Copperheads, Northerners sympathetic to the South, who advocated the violent overthrow of the governments of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri in 1864. Events occurring in other states, such as Texas, are included. There is analysis of the trans-continental railroad and its effect on the region and page after page of general news articles from around the world (the most humorous being the in-depth description of a 7 foot long, 3.5 ton piece of cheese on display at the Toronto Agricultural Fair in 1866). Letters from correspondents travelling with the Indiana troops (and all of the troops) describe their daily activities in detail. One issue is titled “Abraham Lincoln Death” issue, with the type in bold black.

This cooperative venture between Vincennes University and Accessible Archives, was coordinated by Unlimited Priorities Corporation, a company specializing in support for organizations within the information industry, acting in a consultative capacity. Vincennes University initially approached Unlimited Priorities with questions about a potential digitization project. A review of the archival materials convinced Unlimited Priorities that a potential existed for a commercial product They, in turn, contacted Accessible Archives, a current client, who agreed to perform the conversion in return for commercial rights. The University packed and shipped the volumes to Accessible Archives who then arranged for their addition to the collection.

Richard L. King, Reference Librarian, Shake and Lewis Libraries, Vincennes University, discussed the project: “We are very happy to make these 19th Century resources available to a larger audience, not only to students and faculty at Vincennes University and area high school history classes, but to all Accessible Archives users. Several of these newspapers have never been microfilmed, therefore making online access to them as a result of this digitization project is even more significant.”

Tom Nagy, Accessible Archives COO, responded, “We’re excited to add this fourth component to our Civil War collection since it provides information about Civil War activities in the Midwest that have not received a lot of attention previously. There is some pretty amazing content here.”

Iris Hanney, President of Unlimited Priorities, added, “We like to think that we perform an important function for the scholarly community when we can bring together two parties that can be served while helping the greater good. We expect to see more of this type of cooperative effort in other areas during the coming year.”

About Accessible Archives Inc.

Founded in 1990, Accessible Archives utilizes computer technology to provide vast quantities of archived historical information previously available only in microformat. Diverse primary source materials reflecting broad views across American history and culture have been assembled into comprehensive databases. Developed by dedicated instructors and students of Americana, these databases allow access to the rich store of materials from leading books and periodicals then current. Accessible Archives will continue to add titles covering important topics and time periods to assist scholars and students at all academic levels. Accessible Archives has retained Unlimited Priorities Corporation as its exclusive sales and marketing agent.

About Unlimited Priorities

Unlimited Priorities is attuned to the management requirements of companies in the information industry. We provide executive level support services by utilizing a highly skilled group of professionals with abundant experience in sales, marketing, finance, operations, production, IT and training. Unlimited Priorities believes that sales and marketing effectiveness combined with operational excellence are the keys to successful market penetration and growth. By coordinating our talents with your team’s knowledge and experience, we can help you build your business and attain your goals in an efficient and cost effective manner.