Digitizing Newspaper Archives

Digitizing archives has never been more important—or more complicated.

As a company specializing in digitizing newspaper and other archives, historical, and special collections, we've seen firsthand how valuable these materials become once they're searchable and online accessible. But a new question is emerging: What happens when an AI company offers to pay for digitization in exchange for AI training rights?

A growing coalition of libraries and archives is encouraging institutions to separate digitization agreements from AI usage agreements and carefully consider issues of provenance, donor intent, transparency, and long-term control.

For libraries, museums, historical societies, and publishers, the message is clear: if an opportunity to fund digitization comes along, it's worth having a plan in place before the offer arrives.

An important read for anyone responsible for preserving and stewarding historical collections in the age of AI. https://tinyurl.com/yrvhyfb2

For decades, newspaper archives were viewed primarily as historical records. Today, they're something more: valuable digital assets at the center of the AI revolution.

As AI companies seek high-quality content to train large language models, publishers around the world are asking important questions about ownership, attribution, compensation, and the future value of their archives.

This article explores why many news organizations are rethinking how they preserve, manage, and protect their archival collections—and why the conversation around archives and AI is only just beginning.

📚 A thought-provoking read for anyone responsible for preserving history in the digital age.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/yc6uz8kk

As AI reshapes research and information access, archives face an important challenge: how to protect the provenance, context, and integrity of historical collections.

The University of Tulsa Libraries recently joined several leading universities in signing the Statement of Shared Practice on AI & Archives, a framework promoting ethical approaches to AI training and archival materials.

It's an important step in ensuring that valuable collections remain attributable, responsibly managed, and protected as AI technologies continue to evolve.

📚 Read more about this growing conversation in the archives and preservation community - https://utulsa.edu/news/utulsa-joins-notable-universities-in-signing-statement-of-shared-practice-on-ai-archives/

UTulsa joins notable universities in signing Statement of Shared Practice on AI & Archives UTulsa joins Duke, Rice and WashU in signing national AI framework to protect archival collections from unethical AI training.

What happens when the stories that connect generations begin to fade?

A Baltimore startup is exploring how AI can help families preserve memories before they're lost. Inspired by her father's declining ability to share stories, founder Nicole Foster created Sommos, an app that records family histories, connects related memories across generations, and builds a living archive of personal stories.

One quote especially resonated with us: "It's not supposed to be just a drop box for your stories. It's actually finding the throughlines."

Whether it's family memories, local history, newspaper archives, photographs, or community records, preservation is about more than storage—it's about preserving context, connections, and the stories that give meaning to the past.

Read the full article: https://technical.ly/entrepreneurship/sommos-ai-family-archive/

Sommos taps AI to help families preserve memories and connect stories across generations Born from one founder’s personal experience, the voice app turns interviews with loved ones into a searchable oral-history record.

Often ads provide the most fun when exploring newspaper archives! Fantastic to see how some organizations are capitalizing on how much people enjoy vintage ads -

Historical Ads Decorate Sturgeon Bay - Door County Pulse The Sturgeon Bay Historical Society presents the Old Sturgeon Bay Advertisements Project to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary during the Heritage Alliance of Door County’s History Days, a county-wide celebration of […]

Another reminder of why preserving local newspapers matters.

This month, 13 Illinois newspapers ceased publication, creating five new news desert counties and leaving many communities with fewer local news sources. For generations, these papers documented everyday life, local government, schools, businesses, and the stories that shaped their communities.

As newspapers disappear, preserving their archives becomes even more important. These collections are often the only surviving record of a community's history.

Read the full story: https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/06/12/paddock-publications-closes-downstate-newspapers-daily-herald/index.html

Paddock closes at least 13 Illinois newspapers, adding five new news deserts With little advance notice or explanation, Paddock Publications has ceased publishing at least 13 of its 20 newspapers in Illinois this month.