The Rockland Historical Society and the Rockland Public Library will co-sponsor a workshop by Adam Fisher, Director of Digital Initiatives and Collection Development at the Maine State Library, about the State Library’s digital newspaper project and how to search old newspapers.

Fisher will speak about the work necessary to get old newspapers included in the Digital Maine Repository, a huge database maintained by the State Library and available free online and searchable from any computer. The Digital Maine Repository is being indexed by Google and will eventually be available through the Library of Congress.

Fisher will focus on the Rockland Historical Society’s work to get the Limerock Gazette, 1846-1850, the Rockland Gazette, 1850-1882, and the Courier Gazette, 1882-1940, online. The work was funded by grants from local publishers, local museums, the Friends of the Rockland Public Library, the Rockland Public Library Endowment Association, the Rockland Historical Society, and several grants from the Maine Community Foundation.

Fisher will show how to search the newspapers and answer questions.