Northwestern University (Northwestern University Libraries)

The Northwestern University Library will digitize, describe, and make accessible on the Web the entire Winterton Collection, which documents African life and culture from the 1860s through the 1960s. The material, which was assembled by collector Humphrey Winterton and includes more than 7,500 glass lantern slides, photographs, postcards, and diary pages, provides a visual chronicle of the building of East Africa’s railways, the growth of its urban centers, rural life, and the travels and work of European colonial officials and businessmen. The photographs show the changing relationships among Africans and between Africans and Europeans. The project will support teaching about Africa, test emerging digital preservation standards, and ensure that both the physical and digital collections are preserved. Teachers will create curricula on African studies for youth at both the secondary and undergraduate levels.