The New Hampshire Historical Society has begun a far-reaching project to provide greater access to our historical collection. Over the next several years, the Society will digitize (i.e., photograph in digital format for internet accessibility) its library documents and museum objects. This is no small task given the volume of material -- 2 million document pages and 31,000 objects! But the results will have tremendous impact. People will be able to access information about New Hampshire's rich history via the internet, regardless of their geographic location.

Work has begun with an initial, major project to digitize the papers of President Franklin Pierce, who served the country from 1853 to 1857. The Society holds the largest collection of his writings and memorabilia and thus serves as the de facto Pierce Presidential Library. Nearly 2,800 items, totaling more than 8,000 pages, will be digitized and transcribed. This will include materials held by the Library of Congress, the Longyear Museum in Boston, the Huntington Library in California, the Maine Historical Society, and Bowdoin College. These materials will be combined into one resource, accessible via the internet, for scholars and the general public for the first time. The Society has applied to the National Endowment for Humanities and other sources for support of this initial project.

The Society has served as an important resource for teaching the state's history to New Hampshire K-12 students. For example, each year the Society provides educational programs for 70% of the fourth-grade classes whose curriculum includes study of New Hampshire's history. The development of a digital catalog and images will make a diverse wealth of material more accessible for teachers and students throughout the state. This will be especially valuable for students from rural areas for whom access is difficult and for students from recent immigrant and refugee families, to whom the Society offers an important resource for cultural assimilation.

For many people, having the opportunity to see a historic painting, relic, or document in person is an exciting experience. Digitized images won't replace seeing something first-hand. However, they will allow many more people to research information in the comfort of their homes or schools. The Society's museum exhibits will continue, and be enhanced. We are planning an updated core exhibit at the museum, and a virtual overview of the state's history, which will be online. Website displays that correspond with changing exhibitions in the Society's galleries will also be online in the future.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and the New Hampshire Historical Society will offer a membership exchange during the month of November. The Society's members will be able to visit the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center exhibition galleries, at no cost, when a valid membership card is presented at the Discovery Center front desk. 

The Discovery Center, located at 2 Institute Drive in Concord, is an air and space museum offering a state-of-the art planetarium and exhibitions on aviation, astronomy, and Earth and space sciences. It is dedicated to New Hampshire astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first American to travel into space, and Christa McAuliffe, the high school teacher selected by NASA to be the first teacher in space. For hours and exhibition and program information visit the Discovery Center's website at starhop.com or call 603-271-7827. 

On the 150th anniversary of the Civil War the Society remembers the conflict and its impact on New Hampshire with exhibitions at both the museum and library. 

Voices from the Front: New Hampshire and the American Civil War, explores the lives of soldiers who fought and the people who endured life on the home front. This exhibition is on view at the Society's museum through December 31, 2012. 

Soldiers, Sailors, Slaves and Ships: The Civil War Photographs of Henry P. Moore is on exhibition at the Society's library at 30 Park Street, Concord through July 6, 2013.