Jones Library Launches Digital Amherst
Online Repository of All Things 01002

Trying to remember what year Amity House, at the corner of Amity and South Pleasant Streets, caught fire? Wondering how Amherst became an official district? Curious as to whether anyone in town fought in the Spanish-American War?

You’ll find answers to these questions and more at Digital Amherst, a new Web site produced by Special Collections at the Jones Library. Using the vast historical and literary resources of the library in collaboration with area residents and scholars, the site celebrates Amherst’s 250th anniversary through images, multimedia, and documents that reflect the independent spirit of the town’s people, creative works, and culture.  

“We’re very excited to introduce this new resource,” said Tevis Kimball, curator of Special Collections at Jones Library, who led the charge in developing the Web site with Kirstin Kay, a graduate student and graphic designer. “In form and in content, Digital Amherst is intended to support a variety of audiences, including school children, scholars, genealogists, and local researchers.”

The innovative online experience provides access to the Special Collections resources and features essays, historical documents, user-contributed photographs, memorabilia, “zoomable” maps, Flickr feeds, YouTube connections, and a dynamic timeline of the Amherst area. It contains a digital library and essays related to the twelve topics developed by the Amherst 250th Committee, which touch on everything from the town’s architecture to transportation to landscape.