Society to take over News-Sun archives

The Springfield News-Sun finalized an agreement Friday to donate its news archives to the Clark County Historical Society.

“It makes good sense for us to get these valuable photographs, stories and papers in the hands of qualified archivists who can preserve them and allow them to be seen and used by the public,” News-Sun Editor Ben McLaughlin said.

The Clark County Historical Society, which operates the Heritage Center of Clark County at 117 S. Fountain Ave., has been in existence since 1897.

“When we first considered possible partners for our archives collection, the historical society was our first choice,” McLaughlin said. “Their staff and volunteers do an excellent job preserving and sharing the history of Springfield and Clark County.”

Similar agreements with other Cox Media Group Ohio newspapers are already in place. The Dayton Daily News archives, for example, are housed at Wright State University, and the Middletown Journal’s collection is handled by the Middletown Historical Society.

“As a historical society, we’re interested in telling Clark County’s story,” said Roger Sherrock, CEO of the Clark County Historical Society. “You can’t get better stories than what’s been published in the Springfield newspapers over the years.”

Sherrock said the society is anxious to get to work with the archives. The group will begin moving the records to its building over the next few months. It will also catalog and digitize items, thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Ohio Historical Society.

It has done similar projects with the Rotary Club and other organizations in Springfield.

The public will have access to the archives Wednesday through Saturday.

Sherrock said the society has newspapers dating as far back as the 1820s.

“We are the county’s repository,” Sherrock said.

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