About the Project

 

This project was produced by Brooklyn Public Library's Brooklyn Collection and supported by Brooklyn Public Library and by Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Brooklyn Public Library's strategic plan addresses the need to expand educational services using "an advanced telecommunications network to provide our diverse communities with access to emerging technologies and online educational services." (Taking Flight: Brooklyn Public Library's Strategic Plan 2001-2006, adopted by the Board of Trusteees, June 5, 2001.) A further motivation for the project was deep concern for the preservation of the Library's rare and extremely fragile special collections. By scanning our materials and providing online access to them, we are meeting the needs of our communities, as well as providing protection for our collections.

With BPL's strategic plan in mind, as well as the demands of the New York State Learning Standards, our goal was to produce a Web site on Brooklyn's role in the Civil War that would provide students and teachers with online access to primary and secondary historical materials. Students in the 4th and 7th grades must learn to analyze primary source materials in order to meet New York State Learning Standards for the study of local and New York history. The Brooklyn Collection's unique collection of 19th century Brooklyn books, maps, and images, as well as the rare collection of Civil War books found in Brooklyn Public Library's History, Biography and Religion Division contain significant primary source materials. The recently digitized Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper (Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online, 1841-1902, available at www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/eagle) covers the period in question, and is an especially useful resource for the older student and researcher. In addition, this Web site will allow researchers, writers, and those interested in Civil War and local history to explore the deep resources available through Brooklyn Public Library.

The materials presented in this site were selected, researched, and prepared by Brooklyn Public Library staff. Additional materials were gathered from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, Brooklyn Historical Society, the collection of Tom and Angela Sarro, June Gaddy, and other sources. A bibliography of sources used is available here. A note on historical primary source materials: some of the articles in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and other documents may contain offensive language or stereotypes. Such materials should be viewed in the context of their relevant time periods.

Elizabeth Harvey, Local History Librarian for the Brooklyn Collection, served as the Project Manager, and Lisa DeBoer was the Project Coordinator. Additional support and staff time for the project were provided by Brooklyn Collection staff and other Brooklyn Public Library staff members. Web design and interactive components (interactive map and timeline) were created by Jasper Design.

We hope that other library systems will benefit from this project by learning about our experiences as we created the project. Please let us know what you think of the project by filling out our online survey. If you wish to discuss the process, feel free to contact us at .

We have made every attempt to locate copyright ownership of all materials used in this Web site. However, if you have any information regarding copyright, please inform us at .

All materials used in this site are subject to the terms and conditions of use as set forth on the Brooklyn Public Library web site at http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/policy/terms-conditions.