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Seattle, WA – February
14, 2007 - Under a partnership between SmallTownPapers, Inc. and World Vital
Records, Inc., one million exclusive newspaper pages from small towns across
America are now available on the World Vital Records website. The
newspapers, part of the SmallTownPapers collection, represent unique
historical content which has never before been available on the Internet and
is not available from any other source.
“While it’s easy to find old articles from larger, daily newspapers which
are readily available online, it’s a challenge when you trace family roots
to a small town because those newspapers weren't necessarily microfilmed or
placed in the local library,” said Adam Deason, a genealogy buff in Murray,
Utah with family roots in a small Alabama town. “Having the newspapers
easily accessible and searchable on the World Vital Records website will
dramatically enhance my ability to document family history.”
Today, one million pages from small market, weekly newspapers across the
country dating back as far as the mid-1800s are accessible through World
Vital Records with that number growing weekly. Just as Google, Microsoft and
others are beginning to scan books; SmallTownPapers is digitizing the
complete archive of more than 300 newspapers from small towns across
America, including the current printed weekly editions.
“We selected World Vital Records to distribute our collection of small-town
newspapers because of their commitment to the millions of people who want to
research their family history,” said Paul Jeffko, president and founder of
SmallTownPapers, Inc. “World Vital Records is delivering on their mission to
help people discover their ancestors with an incredible collection of
exclusive materials, including SmallTownPapers.”
America has seen a surge in the demand for online genealogy resources.
Market Strategies, Inc. found in 2005 that 73% of Americans are interested
in discovering their family history. Last year, Pew Internet and American
Life Project found that over 35 million Americans are interested in online
genealogy research.
“SmallTownPapers is filling family historians’ needs for historical as well
as vital record data from newspapers that otherwise might never be
accessed,” said Leland K. Meitzler, genealogist and Managing Editor of
Everton’s Genealogical Helper. “I did search my own name and was amazed to
discover an item from an early 1970s Eatonville (Washington) Dispatch,
complete with a picture, about a nursery business I operated when I was a
kid. I had no idea the article was ever run. All of us have family members
in small towns of America. This resource is amazing and shouldn’t be
overlooked when searching your family history.”
SmallTownPapers works with hundreds of small market newspaper publishers to
create this unique, searchable database rich in historical information
needed by genealogists including births, marriages, obituaries and articles
about family members. To date, the company has scanned more than two million
of its more than 20 million page archive, which will be available online as
the digital images are created. For more information visit
www.smalltownpapers.com.
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Contact:
Karen Tarica – 206-369-0855 –
karent@smalltownpapers.com
About SmallTownPapers®
SmallTownPapers is an online gateway to newspapers from small-town America —
past and present. Working with publishers from across the country, the
company digitally scans current and archived newspapers and then provides
online access. Through the SmallTownPapers website, the newspaper archives
can be searched by keyword or phrase and viewed as originally printed.
SmallTownPapers, Inc. is based in Seattle, WA. For more information visit
www.smalltownpapers.com.
About WorldVitalRecords.com
Finding your ancestors can be overwhelming, and expensive. At
WorldVitalRecords.com, we've made it easy and affordable for individuals to
connect to their families and find answers to their genealogical questions.
Led by Paul Allen, who after founding Ancestry.com, which became the largest
genealogy company in the world, now aims to be the number two player in the
genealogy industry with
WorldVitalRecords.com.
WorldVitalRecords.com will offer users international record databases,
references to top genealogical resources, a blog planet, podcasts,
videocasts, webinars, expert advice, training, and user-generated content.
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National Newspaper Association
Washington Newspaper Publishers Association