Haddonfield Public Library
“In hearing about other community history projects, from oral histories to programs at historic sites and battlefields, we learned what went right or wrong and then thought of how the library could encourage our local groups to take on similar projects.”
Inspired by the unexpected discovery of eighteenth-century letters “hidden” in the vault of the library, formerly a 1920s bank, the project team at the Haddonfield Public Library set out to make the library’s collections and local history resources more accessible to the community, branding the library as a resource for anyone in the community who wants to learn about and share local history. During the program, they offered greater access to scanned historical documents, purchased a digital kiosk to allow community members to share their stories, and created a dedicated local history web page. The page features digitized maps of walking tours created by local history groups and highlights the library’s digital resources, including local newspapers and publications.