Michael Disotelle IHS 1989

Ilion Public Library - Digitized IHS Yearbooks

January 2020

By Aileen Carney Sweeney

January 2020 - Ilion Mike Disotelle
1989 IHS Mike Disotelle

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Ilion High School Yearbooks Collection

You can now search Digitized Ilion Yearbooks (link opens in new browser tab) using the New York Heritage digital Ilion Free Public Library Yearbooks collection. The earliest yearbook available was from 1909. There are a few missing yearbooks from 1910 through the early 1920s, but from 1926 to 2013 each yearbook was available to be digitized. Thank you to Shauna Williams Bishop IHS 1991, the Ilion Public Librarian, and Mike Disotelle IHS 1989 Ilion Library Historian for completing this huge task! Soon, links to each yearbook will be added to each class page and to the Hall of Mirrors page. (March 24, 2021)

Mike Disotelle has worked in the Ilion Public Library History Room for over 20 years. He is also a history teacher in the Utica City School District. Over the years, Mike has provided information and photographs for stories written for our alumni web site. The Yearbook covers that appear on our website were made possible when Mike permitted scanning of them in 1997.

Mike hit a grand slam for Ilion alumni this past year. Every Ilion High School Yearbook that is available in the Ilion Public Library has been digitized by Mike and will soon be available online. Each digitized edition even includes the advertisements in the book. The earliest yearbook available was from 1909. There are a few missing yearbooks from 1910 through the early 1920s, but from 1926 to 2013 each yearbook was available to be digitized.

These digitized yearbook files will be a huge asset for anyone researching family genealogical history and Ilion local history. Thank you Mike for all your efforts!!!

The yearbook project was made a little bit easier when prior grant funds were made available to purchase a new scanner and computer. The Friends of the Historic Central Mohawk Valley grant was the source of the funds. That grant was awarded to digitize four volumes of index material that was created, in the 1950s, by former Ilion historian, Ella Dimock.

The digitized yearbook files will have to be hosted on the New York Heritage Digital Collections website. Mike hopes the yearbooks will be available for online by spring of this year. When the files become available, hot links to each digitized yearbook will be added to each class page on our alumni website.

Source - Times Telegram newspaper article - Going digital: Urban renewal photos available online by Donna Thompson / donna@timestelegram.com Posted Jan 11, 2020 at 5:01 AM

 

Ilion Digitized Collections

Three years ago, Mike submitted an application to the Central New York Library Resources Council in Syracuse for an access and a digitization grant on the Ilion 1960s-1970s Urban Renewal Project. The grant was awarded and Mike began with the collection of urban renewal photos from 1967 through 1973.

Mike also created a second collection as part of the initial project. With the permission of Ryan Perry of the Central New York Library Resources Council, Mike created a collection of photographs, which depicted the buildings, which were demolished by urban renewal, as they appeared when they were first erected. The second collection consists of 21 photographs, from 1875 to 1935, titled "Ilion's Era of Progression and Improvement".

The digitation projects require writing a scope of the collection and a series of elements for each photo, including a file name, a title, description and other data. Many of the photographs in the library's collection are in the public domain, but others have the names of businesses, publications or individuals stamped on the back. In these cases, Mike had to seek permission to use them in the online collection.

Ilion Free Public Library - Urban Renewal Digital Photograph Collection

Ilion Free Public Library - Ilion's era of progression and improvement Digital Photograph Collection

Ilion Free Public Library - Ilion Yearbook Collection - Use the Explore The Collection link, at the bottom of the page, to view the yearbooks in chronological order - added March 2021

 

Ilion Public Library - Throwback Thursdays

Mike will continue to post "Throwback Thursday" photographs on the Ilion Free Public Library Facebook page and continue his work in the Public Library Historical Room.

Hours for the Historical Room are:

Monday 5 pm - 8 pm
Tuesday 10 am - 1 pm
Wednesday 1 pm - 5 pm
Thursday 6 pm - 8 pm
Friday 10 am - 1 pm
Saturday 10 am - 1pm

 


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Created and maintained by Aileen Carney Sweeney - Class of 1974

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January 12, 2020 - modified March 24, 2021


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