News Detail

Gettysburg College awards 2007 Electronic Lincoln Prize to Northern Illinois University

05/01/2007

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Gettysburg College has awarded its 2007 Electronic Lincoln Prize to Northern Illinois University Libraries.

Northern Illinois University Libraries has won for its Abraham Lincoln historical digitization project "Lincoln/Net" at lincoln.lib.niu.edu. The $10,000 prize was awarded for significant contribution in the new media and was presented at a formal ceremony April 30 in New York City. The ceremony also included the presentation of the Lincoln Prize to historian Douglas L. Wilson for his book "Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words."

"We are very happy to have won the prize, said Drew E. VandeCreek, director of digital projects for Northern Illinois University Libraries." "It's always gratifying to be recognized for your work. I hope that ¿Lincoln/Net's' technologies will help web users explore historical materials for themselves."

"Lincoln/Net" is a web-based archive that contains nearly 3,000 documents, including many rare and exceptionally valuable primary sources related to Lincoln, Illinois history and the Civil War era. The documents are enhanced with audio, images and interactive tools. The website is also used as a resource for K-12 teachers.

"In the past fifteen years, digital technologies have largely revolutionized libraries' work and roles on college campuses," VandeCreek said. "'Lincoln/Net' expands upon the traditional approach to digital libraries in that it provides more than just primary source materials in searchable databases. By providing interpretive resources and multiple media types, we hope that 19th historical materials become more intelligible and accessible to non-specialists."

The jury for the Electronic Lincoln Prize was comprised of Matthew Pinsker, a Lincoln historian from Dickinson College; Anne Sarah Rubin, a professor of history at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a 2001 Electronic Lincoln Prize laureate; and Jim Percoco, a history teacher from West Springfield High School in Virginia.

"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.

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 2006 winner University of North Carolina's web site "Documenting the American South;" 2003 winner Harpweek.com's web site "Lincoln and the Civil War.com," containing 40 wartime newspapers published in both the North and the South; and 2001 winners 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."

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: 5/1/07