Grand Canyon project to mark centennial

Thousands of high-quality archival photographs and documents about the early history of the Grand Canyon National Park will be made accessible to the public through a new project called "One Hundred Years of Grand."

The project helps mark the Grand Canyon National Park centennial on Feb. 26, 2019.

University Archivist Rob Spindler said the project, which was recently awarded funding from the Library Services and Technology Act, not only holds significance to state historians but to the more than 280 million people who visit national parks each year, in addition to Arizona businesses and educators.

"Visitors to the park will enhance their experience by exploring historical details of early park history, students and teachers will illustrate class lectures and create assignments on Grand Canyon history, and Arizona businesses that rely on Grand Canyon tourism will use these materials in their advertisement and marketing efforts," Spindler said.

The project, endorsed by the Arizona Office of Tourism, is a collaboration between ASU Library, Northern Arizona University (NAU) Special Collections and Archives and the Grand Canyon Museum, National Park Service.

High-quality digital materials will be presented and delivered via online repositories, such as the ASU Digital Repository and NAU's Colorado Plateau Digital Archives.

"Community members will benefit because they will be able to acquire and reuse archives, enhance their tourism experience with historical context, learn about balancing public and commercial uses of public lands, and celebrate the Grand Canyon National Park centennial with creative uses of historical materials," Spindler said.

The Grand Canyon project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives andPublic Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.