Chicago History Museum

The Chicago History Museum will digitize and upgrade the storage of 35,000 cellulose nitrate negatives in more than 70 individual collections that document Chicago and its neighboring communities from the 1890s through the 1950s. The project is the third and final phase of a multiyear effort to identify and address the challenges of the nitrate holdings, incorporating methodologies and workflows developed, tested, and streamlined during prior phases. Project activities will include creating digital surrogates of the negatives to reduce potential of damage due to handling; verifying and enhancing electronic records; disseminating digital images to improve physical, intellectual, and administrative control; and upgrading the nitrate negatives' storage environment to safe, recommended laboratory-grade freezers to achieve preservation conditions. The project will both preserve the nitrate negatives for decades to come and foster increased staff and public use of the holdings with minimal additional wear and tear on the original materials.