Mt. Prospect library receives grant to preserve history

The Mount Prospect Public Library was one of 13 libraries across the state that received grants for the continued preservation of historical documents and other artifacts in digital form.

Mount Prospect's Digital Imaging Grant totaled $5,660. The funds will allow it to continue donating artifacts to the Illinois Digital Archives, a collection that's maintained by the Illinois State Library.

"Mount Prospect residents are proud of the village's history and always eager to learn more and see images from the past," said Anne Shaughnessy, a librarian who's leading the digitizing work at the Mount Prospect Public Library.

The library is working on the project in partnership with the Mount Prospect Historical Society. The artifacts that have been donated to the Illinois Digital Archives so far include numerous black-and-white and color photos from the village's past and audio clips from people like the late Alice Teichert, wife of former Village President Robert Teichert, who served from the late 1960s to the late 1970s.

The Mount Prospect items can be found by visiting www.idaillinois.org and searching for the Mount Prospect collection.

The 13 libraries received a total of $485,779 in Digital Imaging Grants, which are awarded by Secretary of State Jesse White.