President Lincoln’s Written Word & Digital Library
President Lincoln’s Written Word & Digital Library
Iron Mountain is proud to pledge our support to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation on behalf of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project. Made possible through Iron Mountain’s Living Legacy Initiative, it is Iron Mountain’s commitment to preserve and make accessible cultural and historical information and artifacts. Our support will enable the Papers of Abraham Lincoln to continue their identifying, imaging, transcribing, annotating and publishing all documents written by, or to, Abraham Lincoln. The grant will also help create a digital library with all of the documents and help safeguard the date using Iron Cloud, Iron Mountain’s storage platform.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, located in Illinois, supports both the museum and library to share the work of President Lincoln. With a mix of permanent and temporary immersive exhibits, people can come learn about President Lincoln or access some of the collections online to learn about his historic work.
“The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, with a mission to serve the official presidential Library and Museum of our nation’s 16th president, is proud of its longstanding partnership with Iron Mountain.” said Carla Knorowski, CEO of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation. “We value our collaboration – it’s the essence of what corporate responsibility is all about. Abraham Lincoln, a 19th century president, couldn’t ask for a better 21st century, cutting edge partner than Iron Mountain.”
So far, the Papers of Abraham Lincoln has been able to look at, annotate, digitize, categorize and publish over 5,000 documents with 100,000 still be annotated and tagged. Iron Mountain’s financial support allowed project editors in Springfield, Illinois to ready documents for publication, resulting in the launch of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln Digital Library, the first segment of the digital product, which includes over 5,000 documents from the very first known Lincoln document—the Lincoln Sum Book—to 1841.
“Iron Mountain also funded the search for Lincoln documents in Washington, DC, resulting in the discovery of thousands of documents within the project’s scope, said Daniel Worthington, Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. ‘Project editors not only found letters to and from top generals, senators, congressmen, and other prominent individuals, but also discovered those from common, everyday folk calling on Lincoln for employment, redress of a grievance, or some other service.”
Worthington explained that among the most poignant letters are missives from fathers, mothers, siblings and extended family members that request the “Great Emancipator” to liberate their relatives from Confederate prisons; release them from military service because of injury or age (some enlisting as young as fifteen); or pardon them from the hangman’s noose for offenses committed while in military service. Lincoln’s handling of these letters reveals his reveals his innate warmth, gentleness, compassion, and empathy, all the while remaining dedicated to justice and the rule of law.
“What attracted us to support the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, and specifically the written word of President Lincoln, was that he was undeniably a great leader, at one of the most monumental times in American history,” said Alisha Perdue, manager, community engagement. “Partnering through the Living Legacy Initiative offers the public an opportunity to discover and learn more about him—his integrity, decision-making, and even fears—from his humble beginnings, through his elections, and to his assassination."
