The OVN Archive Project - Digitizing 130 years of history
Dear Reader,
The only consistent recorded history of our Ojai Valley community is 132 years of newspaper archives — The Ojai/Ojai Valley News. This vital historical record does not exist in a searchable digital form between 1891 and 2014. The Ojai Valley News shares e-edition digital copies of the newspaper on its website back to 2014 with subscribers, and is in possession of print copies back to 1945. Other existing archives live in the Ojai Valley Museum and the Ventura Library in the form of delicate paper archives and microfilm that can be viewed with gloves and by appointment.
The Project:
The Ojai Valley News seeks to recover all of this valuable data and make it available to subscribers and to the Ventura Library system. So far, the Ojai Valley News has partnered with the Ventura County Library, who owns and stores the aged, rapidly degrading microfilm of the newspaper and has begun the process of transferring the data — newspaper by newspaper — into PDFs. As of May 1, 2022, 38 years have been completed.
Next Steps:
We need to get 83 years of content transferred — over 400 hours of labor — then get an application built to deliver the searchable content on our website.
The Ojai Valley News Archive Project has begun, we have digitized and stored over 1,500 newspaper editions so far, and need help to finish this important historical project. Research will be so much easier for historians, descendants and interested members of our community.
Can you help us reach our goal to secure and expand our community’s access to its history?
Any amount can help us reach our goal of $9,000.
Contact me with questions or ideas. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
With affection,
Laura Rearwin Ward, publisher Ojai Valley News
(Your gift does not qualify as a tax deductible donation.)
