Up to 100,000 pages of Vermont newspapers published between 1836 and 1922 will be digitalized and available to the general public thanks to a $391,552 grant.

The grant, given to University of Vermont Libraries by the National Endowment for the Humanities, will be used to support the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project, according to University Communications.

UVM Libraries, along with several partners, will work to select, digitalize and present these libraries through the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America database.

“The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project will provide a window into Vermont’s participation in key movements such as the abolition of slavery, the Civil War, westward expansion, the influenza pandemic and the first world war,” University Communications stated.

The newspapers will come from collections of the Vermont Department of Libraries and the University of Vermont.

“It will have a tremendous impact on local history research in Vermont,” Vermont Historical Society Librarian Paul Carnahan said. “A lot of research boils down to information found in newspapers and until now there has been no easy way to get at it except sitting in a dark room with microfilm and winding your way through reels one at a time. It will be like day and night.”