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Yonkers Public Library Joins Global Effort to Preserve Local History\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selected for International Digital Archiving Program, YPL Invites the Community to Share Photos, Videos, and Other Digital Memories\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yonkers Public Library (YPL) is proud to announce its selection into the 2026\u00a0Community Webs New York Cohort, an initiative led by the\u00a0Internet Archive<\/a>\u00a0in partnership with New York State\u2019s\u00a0Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY)<\/a>. By participating in this program, YPL will collect and preserve digital content documenting the news, culture, and civic life of Yonkers.<\/p>\n The Community Webs program supports libraries, archives, and historical organizations in building web archiving collections that capture local digital history\u2014such as government websites, community organization pages, social media, and online news. YPL is one of the first 200 organizations to join the Community Webs program worldwide, and the first organization in Westchester County to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cYPL\u2019s acceptance into this program is an honor,\u201d said\u00a0Nancy Maron, president of the YPL Board of Trustees, \u201cand reflects the dedication of YPL\u2019s administration to broadening the library\u2019s value to Yonkers in new and innovative ways.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the program, YPL staff will receive hands-on training in web archiving techniques, access to specialized tools from the Internet Archive, and opportunities to collaborate with peer institutions across New York State and the nation. These collections are made publicly accessible through the Internet Archive\u2019s\u00a0Wayback Machine<\/a>, ensuring that today\u2019s digital records of local news and life in Yonkers remain available to future generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n DHPSNY supports cultural heritage organizations in preserving and improving access to their historical records. Funded by the New York State Education Department, DHPSNY offers free services to libraries, archives and historical societies. YPL has previously benefited from DHPSNY\u2019s services through an archival needs assessment grant, which provided staff with expert guidance on the library\u2019s\u00a0local history archive and collections.<\/a>\u00a0Participation in the Community Webs program builds on that foundation by extending YPL\u2019s preservation efforts into the digital realm.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of our community\u2019s story is being recorded online,\u201d said\u00a0Library Director Jesse Montero. \u201cFrom local news websites to social media accounts of local influencers, digital platforms are increasingly central to chronicling news and daily life in Yonkers. Today\u2019s local news will become our future local history and through the Community Webs program, we are ensuring that history will be preserved for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n The first website to officially join YPL\u2019s Community Webs site is\u00a0The Yonkers Ledger.<\/a>\u201cWe are excited by this opportunity to partner with YPL to archive important stories from\u00a0The Yonkers Ledger, past, present and future. The internet can be less permanent than we think, and keeping local journalism accessible in the online archive is essential for historical purposes.\u201d said\u00a0Ruth Walter, the\u00a0Ledger\u2019s\u00a0publisher.\u00a0<\/p>\n YPL encourages local news sites and individuals to participate in the program by sharing digital content \u2013 ranging from blog posts to videos to social media feeds \u2013 related to Yonkers culture and history. Interested parties can contact\u00a0localhistory@ypl.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n YPL\u2019s participation reflects its ongoing commitment to preserving Yonkers\u2019 past while embracing innovative strategies to document its present.<\/p>\n