The Delaware Industrial History Initiative (DIHI) is under way. The goal of DIHI is to document--digitally--Delawareans' experiences with industrialization and industrial decline. DHF has made grants available for such digitization projects, supported in part by the "We the People" program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The following project was granted funding by DHF in 2010:

Grantee and Project Name:

• Milford Commission on Landmarks and Museums, Archiving Milford's Visual History

Purpose:

The Milford Museum will digitize more than 1,000 images and develop electronic archives of its entire photographic collection. In addition, the Museum will establish a computer station to allow the public to conduct personal research on site. The Museum plans to use the new archives as a starting point for a Milford Museum website (projected for 2011) which will in turn be linked to the Delaware Public Archives. The Museum has had limited ability to display its considerable collection of historic photos and images of Milford and the surrounding area, despite evidence of growing public interest. Recent exhibits--The History of Baseball in Milford and Rock and Roll in Milford--could showcase only a small portion of the Museum's relevant holdings. The electronic archives will provide much greater accessibility to the Museum's collection for the entire community.

Technological Elements:

• Computer station on-site for searching archives

Target Population:

• General public
• All DIHI projects, ideally, will be integrated in school and university curricula (not only as a source for teachers, but also as the product of student assignments, e.g., oral histories)
  
  

For more information on the Delaware Industrial History Initiative, click here or contact Program Officer Catherine Homsey at (302) 657-0650 ext. 14.