Virtual Motor City
Project Highlights

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Virtual Motor City Partners and Images

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Project Goals | Project Timeline | Scanning Procedures | Data Mapping Tables | Contributors | Photo Usage | Comments/Questions

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Virtual Motor City is the name of an IMLS sponsored digitization project, carried out by the Wayne State University Library System and the Walter P. Reuther Library.

The digitized images in the project represent a small subset of the Detroit News Collection, one of the premier photojournalistic resources freely available from a national-level newspaper and held at the Reuther Library.

In 1997, the Detroit News' outgoing editor and publisher Robert Giles conveyed the paper's original negatives and, significantly, copyright to the Reuther Library at WSU.

The full collection consists of more than 800,000 specially selected glass and nitrate, acetate and polyester film-based negatives. These date from the late 19th century, but the bulk fall between 1900 and 1980. They range in size from 8" x 10" to 35mm in both black and white, and color.

As a part of the Virtual Motor City project a number of 1920's Detroit News Newsreels have been digitized. We currently have over 400 available for browsing online through this website.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning, supports Wayne State University.