- Getty Images (GETY, Financial) partners with Ancestry to digitize HBCU archives.
- HBCUs retain copyright while receiving digital preservation and platform access.
- Lincoln University is the first to digitize archives dating back to 1854.
Getty Images (GETY) has announced a strategic partnership with Ancestry, aimed at digitally preserving historical documents and photographs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This collaboration extends Getty's existing HBCU Grants Program, offering a unique opportunity for participating institutions to protect and share their valuable historical records.
The partnership will see the digitization of critical materials such as newsletters, newspapers, student records, and yearbooks, ensuring they are searchable on Ancestry's platforms. Importantly, the participating HBCUs will maintain full copyright ownership of their materials and benefit from complimentary campus-wide access to Ancestry's platform, enhancing educational and genealogical resources for students and faculty.
Lincoln University, the United States' first degree-granting HBCU, serves as the starting point for this initiative. Ancestry has already begun digitizing documents such as the Lincolnian and archival photographs dating back to 1854, providing a model that could be replicated at other HBCUs to preserve and celebrate their rich legacies.
This initiative highlights Getty Images' strategic move into historical content preservation, creating a substantial archive that enhances their content library while enabling broader access to the legacy of HBCUs, previously at risk of being lost or remaining inaccessible. The collaboration with Ancestry also allows families and researchers to uncover untold stories of HBCU alumni and ancestors, enriching historical research and understanding.
