Slavery and Abolition in the US: Select Publications of the 1800s is a digital collection of books and pamphlets that reflect the varying opinions and beliefs expressed on the slavery issue throughout the nineteenth century. The works in this collection reflect arguments on both sides of the slavery debate and include first person narratives, legal proceedings and decisions, anti-slavery tracts, religious sermons, and secondary works. This online resource is made freely available, and we hope that providing these rare and important research materials will enhance teaching and learning, at all levels of instruction, about this complex issue.
The materials presented in Slavery and Abolition in the US were gathered from the Archives and Special Collections Departments of both the Millersville University Library and the Dickinson College Library. Careful consideration has gone into the selection of each item, and criteria for selection were particularly focused on a) materials of particular value to scholars for teaching and research, b) materials difficult to access due to their rarity, c) materials that represent a variety of viewpoints, and d) materials at risk from a preservation point of view.
At present, the Slavery and Abolition in the US database holds more than 24,000 pages of text drawn from 67 books and 59 pamphlets. Each individual page has been scanned at an appropriate resolution to allow for reading directly from the original page image. Full transcripts of every page are also included to allow for full-text searching and ease of reading. The collection spans from 1787 to 1911 with the greatest concentration of materials dating from the mid-nineteenth century.
Slavery and Abolition in the US utilizes CONTENTdm digital collection management software to organize and present its materials online. CONTENTdm allows for the virtual recreation of hierarchical materials online, making it possible to read through a book or pamphlet on screen as you would with the physical copy in hand. Another key feature of CONTENTdm's Document Viewer is its ability to display page images and full-text transcripts side by side. CONTENTdm has been optimized for use in Internet Explorer, and not all of its features are compatible with other browsers.
Slavery and Abolition in the US: Select Publications of the 1800s was supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in association with Millersville University and Dickinson College.
Work on this project began on August 1, 2007; the project website was launched on July 1, 2008.
Work on Slavery and Abolition in the US can be divided into various stages, including the selection and preparation of materials, the selection of hardware and software, the processing of materials, website development, and content development. For more detailed information on how we proceeded with this project, please visit our separate page on creating the resource center.
|James W. Gerencser
| Marilyn M. Parrish, D. Ed.
Archivist and Special Collections Librarian
| Ryan Burke
|Greg Aldin, Cara Holtry
We would like to acknowledge our colleagues who supported our efforts in numerous different ways throughout the project: Andrew Cassidy-Amstutz, Janet Dotterer, Deborah Ege, Robert Reeves, Malinda Triller, and Alissa Zawoyski.
Several undergraduate student employees and volunteers also provided valuable assistance for this project. Their efforts in the preparation of materials for this project included editing OCR'd text and performing original research. For their contributions, our thanks go to Kristin Bodall, Brendan Boston, Jarrod Bouchard, Megan Browndorf, Chris Byrne, Allyson Glazier, Christopher Holden, Molly Jerome, Corey Korinda, Maryanne Luthy, Margaret MacAvoy, Michele Marouchoc, Stephenie McGucken, Terri Monser, Caitlin Moriarty, Maximilian Paschall, Bonnie Pedlow, Caroline Radesky, Sarah Rivera, Allison Schell, Anneke Skidmore, Eric Souder, and Lisa Wainwright.
Finally, faculty members at both Millersville University and Dickinson College were asked to assist with the process of selecting materials to digitize. We would like to thank Leroy Hopkins, Matthew Pinsker, and Tracey Weis for their valuable input.
Conditions of Use
Millersville University and Dickinson College retain all rights to the digital images and original content presented on this website.
The Slavery and Abolition in the US website is intended for educational and research purposes only. These materials may be used freely for teaching and academic research and may be linked from other websites; use of the images, transcriptions, and original content contained in Slavery and Abolition in the US should be properly credited to the source.
Any and all commercial use of the materials on the Slavery and Abolition in the US website is strictly prohibited without written permission from Millersville University and Dickinson College. Reproductions of materials and licensing for use are available, upon request, for a fee. If you would like to use the materials presented here for publication or presentation, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at Dickinson College (717-245-1399; email@example.com)
Page updated: July 1, 2010