See history online with the new Pittsburgh City Archives Digital Collections website

Once upon a time, the City of Pittsburgh kept its records stored in basements.

That changed in 2018 when, two years after hiring its first-ever city archivist, it became a priority to preserve records and create an accessible digital catalog of archival records, ensuring everyone from residents to city employees can access them.

Now, after devoting years to the effort, the City is offering users the option of accessing records online with the launch of City Archives Digital Collections website.

Exciting news!

Today we’re launching a City Archives Digital Collections website, where extensive material from the archives will be made available to browse and research online:https://t.co/RJhgNUPptT

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— Pittsburgh City Archives (@PghArchives) November 27, 2023

As Pittsburgh Record Management Division Manager Nick Hartley told Technical.ly in fall 2022, uploading municipal records and City Council proceedings to the nonprofit digital library Internet Archive was a good option during the pandemic because it was open to the public and offered expediency. Still, the department wanted to offer a broad spectrum of online records, and Internet Archive could only ingest certain types of records, such as books and videos.

Through the newly launched archives website, Hartley said this week, users will have access to 200 years’ worth of history in the form of files, films, and images.

“There are a lot of great material collections, the most records available now [that have] ever been made available to the public before,” Hartley told Technical.ly on Tuesday. “So, I hope they explore the website and really get a sense of the kinds of records that are available for them.”

Check it out

Although the website hosts a great deal of Pittsburgh history, the new site isn’t intended to only serve Pittsburghers. In addition to City Council meetings, users will have access to records related to boroughs in Allegheny County, as well as records that include information that any number of scholars could find useful. The website also includes information about city planning in the development of zoning not just in the city, but throughout the United States.

“It can appeal to a broad spectrum of users,” Hartley said.

The website took one year and four people to put together. However, the work’s not done yet. Hartley said the department plans to continue digitizing more films with an aim to get a wider selection available on the website in the future.

Since the city has such an extensive archival collection, Hartley admits it’s not going to be feasible to digitize everything. Still, the records that do get digitized will be preserved.

In the end, the website exists to grant curious researchers more access.

“The original copies will still be maintained and preserved in our archives,” Hartley said. “The website is really just a tool to help people find this information.”

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.