eLincoln Prize

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Gettysburg College has awarded its Electronic Lincoln Prize to the library of one of the nation's leading research universities.

The University Library at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill has won for its digital publishing program "Documenting the American South at http://docsouth.unc.edu." The $10,000 prize was awarded for significant contribution in the new media and was presented at a formal ceremony April 6 in New York City. The ceremony also included the presentation of the Lincoln Prize to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin for her book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln."

"This is a terrific honor for us and for all of the individuals and organizations that have supported the development of 'Documenting the American South,'" UNC University Librarian and Associate Provost for University Libraries Sarah C. Michalak said. "Our library first envisioned DocSouth as a way to serve scholars and to receive the Electronic Lincoln Prize is a real affirmation of our sustained commitment to scholarly values."

The UNC Library launched "Documenting the American South" in 1996 to make available several fragile and highly circulating slave narratives for consultation and study. DocSouth has since grown to include thousands of books, images, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters and audio files related to southern history, literature and culture. The works appear in nine thematic collections, including "North American Slave Narratives," "The Southern Homefront, 1861-1865," "Library of Southern Literature" and "The Church in the Southern Black Community." An editorial board oversees the initiative and scholars advise on and contribute to individual collections.

Readers include not only researchers, but university students from around the world, K-12 teachers and students, journalists, genealogists and the public.

"We are always looking for opportunities to develop the DocSouth digital library," Michalak said. "This prize will allow us to continue digitizing works of value and presenting them in a considered way for research and discovery."

The jury for the Electronic Lincoln Prize was comprised of William G. Thomas from the University of Nebraska, Matthew Pinsker from Gettysburg College and Paula Petrik from George Mason University. "Documenting the American South" was chosen among more than a dozen finalists for the prize.

Funding for this year's Electronic Lincoln Prize comes from Art Crivella, president and co-founder of the business consulting firm ASE Edge in Pittsburgh. Previous recipients include the 2003 winner Harpweek.com's web site "Lincoln and the Civil War.com, " which contains the complete contents of 40 wartime newspapers published in both the North and the South, and the 2001 first-place winner Edward L. Ayers, Anne S. Rubin and William G. Thomas for their CD-ROM, book and website "Valley of the Shadow: The Eve of War" and second-place winner Stephen Railton for his website "Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture: A Multi-Media Archive," which was a joint project of the University of Virginia and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, Conn.

"The winner of the Electronic Lincoln Prize proves that the historians' work can be immensely improved if scholars move fully into the 21st Century," said Gettysburg College Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies Gabor Boritt, who serves as chair of the Electronic Lincoln Prize.

Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences. With approximately 2,600 students, it is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1832.

Issued 04/06/06

About The Prize ~  Previous Winners  ~  Advisory Council Members  

Related Links