UK Libraries Partners With Umbra Search on Newly Launched Search Tool for African-American History

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 2, 2017) — University of Kentucky Libraries has partnered with Umbra Search African American History at the University of Minnesota — a program that makes African-American culture and history more broadly available through a freely available search tool (https://www.umbrasearch.org/), strategic digitization, and public events and workshops.

Digitized rare and unique materials from the UK Libraries that document African-American cultural history have been made available for aggregation, and are now discoverable in Umbra Search, alongside over 400,000 materials from libraries and archives across the country. These include the Jim Curtis photograph collection on Civil Rights in Kentucky, the Alexandra Soteriou photographs, the Jouette Shouse Collection of American Liberty League pamphlets, and publications from the Federal Writers’ Project of the Kentucky WPA.

Throughout 2017, Umbra Search and its many national partners will host a series of public events nationally to celebrate Umbra Search’s public launch. The yearlong campaign, #UmbraSearch365, will promote the launch and highlight black history materials every day from across the country, including those from the collections at UK Libraries. Follow with #UmbraSearch365!

Follow @UmbraSearch on Twitter and visit www.umbrasearchblog.org to learn more about upcoming events and news related to this new search tool.