Passaic county community college will lead a community-centered initiative to digitize and provide public access to archival materials documenting alexander hamilton's role in establishing paterson,…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Passaic County Community College $301,880 on September 1, 2026, under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) to digitize and provide public access to archival materials documenting Alexander Hamilton's role in establishing Paterson, New Jersey.

The project will create a shared digitization hub and digitize historical items including documents, photographs, maps, newspapers, and oral histories drawn from the Alexander Hamilton Archives at Passaic County Community College, the Paterson City Free Library, the Paterson Museum, County of Passaic Department of Cultural & Historic Affairs, the Hamilton Partnership for Paterson, the American Labor Museum, and student materials identified by Passaic County Community College's Student Government Association. Students will receive hands-on training in digitization and metadata creation using the Omeka-S platform. The resulting publicly accessible digital archive will expand access to Paterson's history for students, researchers, and the broader community.

The project is carried out in partnership with local libraries, museums, cultural organizations, and college faculty and students. Work is performed in Paterson, New Jersey, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.

Passaic county community college will lead a community-centered initiative to digitize and provide public access to archival materials documenting alexander hamilton's role in establishing paterson, new jersey. The project will be in partnership with local libraries, museums, cultural organizations, and passaic county community college faculty and students. The project will create a shared digitization hub and digitize historical items, including documents, photographs, maps, newspapers, and oral histories. Students will receive hands-on training in digitization and metadata creation using the omeka-s platform, resulting in a publicly accessible digital archive that expands access to paterson's history for students, researchers, and the broader community. The project will result in digitized, searchable collections drawn from the alexander hamilton archives at passaic county community college, the paterson city free library, the paterson museum, county of passaic department of cultural & historic affairs, the hamilton partnership for paterson, the american labor museum, and student materials identified by passaic county community college's student government association.