Long Island University to Host Second Annual Gardiner Symposium on Digitizing Local History Sources at Cradle of Aviation Museum on June 22, 2019

BROOKVILLE, N.Y., June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Long Island University is pleased to announce that it will host the Second Annual Gardiner Symposium on Digitizing Local History Sources: The Past as Prologue at the Cradle of Aviation Museum In Garden City, N.Y., on Saturday, June 22, 2019, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Thanks to the generous support of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at LIU is now in the middle of a six-year project to digitize irreplaceable materials found in Long Island's local historical societies. So far more than 35,000 images have been captured from 28 participating historical societies, totaling more than 8 terabytes of data.

"From Huntington to the Hamptons, from Fire Island to Gardiners Island, the history of Long Island is rich and varied," said Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, president of Long Island University. "Through the Digitizing Local History Project we're now bringing that history to life."

The digitization project is directed by Dr. Gregory S. Hunter, who has helped the Palmer School at LIU become a national leader in library and information science. Dr. Hunter was part of the team that built the Electronic Records Archives for the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. At LIU, Dr. Hunter serves as the director of the Palmer School's Certificate of Advanced Study in Archives and Records Management.

According to Dr. Hunter, the digitization project's goals are to safeguard Long Island's historical materials, increase access to them, and give Palmer School students the necessary technical skills for their professional careers.

"I'm not building a collection for me or for Long Island University," said Dr. Hunter. "Let the historical societies do what they want with the images. At no cost, they can get their materials preserved in a cloud-based archival system called Preservica."

The event at the Cradle of Aviation Museum will feature three reports from the field: "The Fire Island Communities: A Cooperative Model for Historic Preservation," by Kaetlyn Jackson, Park Planner, Fire Island National Seashore; "Preservation Long Island: The Challenge of Glass Plate Negatives," by Lauren Brincat, Curator, Preservation Long Island; and "The Railroad Museum of Long Island's First Steps Entering the Age of Digital Sharing," by George Walsh, Trustee and Archivist; John Rooney, Accessions Chair; and Dr. Paul Carr, Registrar, at Long Island Railroad Museum.

Dr. Kimberly R. Cline, President of Long Island University, will welcome the guests at 3:30 p.m., and Kathryn Curran, Executive Director, Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, will give the concluding remarks at 5 p.m. The Museum's docents will be on hand to offer tours of the Cradle's collection for interested guests.

"What we're doing is timeless!" said Dr. Hunter about the Digitizing Local History Sources project. "Thomas Jefferson saw the need for it; Lin-Manuel Miranda brought the message to a new generation in 'Hamilton: An American Musical.' Really what we're trying to do is use this project to tell the stories of Long Islanders."

The Cradle of Aviation Museum is on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Garden City, NY 11530; its general information number is 516-527-4111.

For further information on covering this special event, please contact Spencer Rumsey, associate director of public relations at Long Island University, 516-299-2919; [email protected].

About Long Island University (LIU)
LIU is one of the nation's largest private universities. Since 1926, LIU has provided high quality academic programs taught by world-class faculty.  LIU offers 500 accredited programs to nearly 20,000 students, with a network of over 260,000 alumni, including leaders in industries across the globe. Visit liu.edu for more information.

SOURCE Long Island University