Alan Hall, Director
Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County

In 2002, ten public libraries within the SOLO Regional Library System in southeastern Ohio formed the “Digital Shoebox Project”.  The name related to the fact that many people place their local history and family photos in containers such as a shoebox.  “Digital Shoebox” was a way of naming the goal of digitizing photos for preservation and sharing.

As the project grew and expanded it became clear that photos are great in digitized format, but text information adds more long-term usefulness for reference and library research.

The Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County added existing digitized books to the Shoebox. Libraries began to look at resources that would be preserved and more accessible through digitization and started adding to the Shoebox.  In other words, the project moved from photos to collection development to enhance the offerings in the system.

Rare and valuable items of local and regional interest were preserved by digitization. Access increased with online connections from various libraries and home computers.  Another advantage of digitization is that a new paper copy can be produced and placed in the library collection for public use.

With the restructuring of regional library systems ownership of the Shoebox was passed to the Steubenville Library System, who administers and manages the project.  Several of the original libraries continue to add to the Shoebox, with over 60,000 pages of digitized images online and managed with CONTENTdm software.  This allows for extensive access by keyword searching.

There is a mix of resources on the Shoebox.  A 1911 “Ohio Farm Laws” book was a common reference book for agricultural families.  A Life Magazine article from 1937 outlines life in an Ohio River steel town.

A typewritten copy of “The History of Richmond, Ohio” was found in the back of a school filing cabinet, and preserved through digitization.

The scrapbooks of Mayor Andrew Miller of Steubenville were donated to the library and digitized to serve as a history of the City from 1962-1971.  Original source materials for that era are now available and online.

The Shoebox is supported by annual support from the libraries with materials in the project.  In 2007, a grant of $ 25,000 was awarded to the Shoebox by the John C. Williams Charitable Trust of the Pittsburgh National Bank. The grant was used to upgrade the system equipment and enhance the holdings by scanning county and local histories that were not online at that time.

The Digital Shoebox is a 24/7 library resource that can be searched by anyone, anytime at www.digitalshoebox.org