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State's online libraries catalog adds Lewes Historical Society collection

HathiTrust/DLC
Rare books like the one at left will now be listed in the Delaware Library Catalog.

Researchers using Delaware's online library catalog will now be able to look up documents from the Lewes Historical Society's collection, which includes some rare pieces of Delaware lore.

The society has some 4,000 books and records in its own library, out of a 120,000-item collection. But until now, executive director Mike DiPaolo says people have had to know to ask the society about them.

 

Now, he says they'll be able to see Lewes' collection listed alongside public libraries in the online database. It's thanks to the work of one volunteer who's been working to "attach" all the library's books to the state's library data system.

"We are really excited that other folks will be able to get to see some of the great treasures that we have when they're doing research," DiPaolo says. "When they have questions about their own family history, about the community's history, the state's history, genealogy, architectural questions -- they'll get to see our holdings."

Some of those holdings are common books on Delaware history that can be found in other libraries. But the state catalogue also shows some of the Lewes Historical Society's books are the unique in the state, or at least unique south of Wilmington.

One of DiPaolo's favorite examples is a recently donated book of poetry called Under the Blue Sky. It's a collection by Philip Francis duPont, published in 1900.

"And as far as I can tell, at least in the Delaware library catalogue, it will be, once it's added, the only copy listed," DiPaolo says.

But it contains something else even more special -- a handwritten poem in what DiPaolo calls duPont's "beautiful, beautiful script" on the inside front cover, signed, "yours, P.F.D." It reads:

Wasn't it Minister Wu who said books are never by women read? Didn't he say to give them a book was to turn it into a dusty nook? Well, proven the facts may lie, this, at least, I can certify: If you but read, and care to smile, all my trouble has been worthwhile.

"It's just a neat little note," says DiPaolo. "I have no idea who that was intended for."

Still, he says it's gems like that that make the Historical Society's collection such a worthwhile contribution to the statewide catalog. They're also one of the only Delaware museum organizations in the catalog.

The society is also undertaking an effort to digitally organize more of its other holdings. They're getting a $51,000 grant from another duPont relative's charitable foundation -- the Jessie Ball duPont Fund in Florida -- to update their website.

DiPaolo says it's helping them make better use of all the data they keep, including geotagging, to see what artifacts correspond with what historic sites.

"So as you're exploring those collections, either on your desktop or hopefully as you're walking around town with your mobile device, you can take what would amount to a self-guided tour and explore the great history all around you," he says.

When the website overhaul is done in the spring, he hopes they can use the technology to design themed walking tours of different aspects of Lewes' history.

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