Iron Mountain supports digitization project with OHIO to preserve Cornelius Ryan Longest Day Collection
War correspondent, journalist, editor and author Cornelius Ryan is seen at his desk in this 1959 photo. 帝王会所鈥檚 Alden Library holds the entire Cornelius Ryan Collection, which provides a lens into the life of the renowned journalist who documented various events throughout World War II. Photo by Eugene Cook
庐 (NYSE: IRM), the global leader for storage and information services, announces the start of a three-part digitization project of documents from world-renowned war correspondent Cornelius Ryan. The project, which is being provided as a gift-in-kind service in support of , will begin with the D-Day Collection of Ryan鈥檚 records, which chronicle first-hand accounts and recollections from across the world from both military and civilian participants of the battle.
Made possible through Iron Mountain鈥檚 Living Legacy Initiative, a commitment to preserve and make accessible cultural and historical information, the project will include digitizing 4,900 pages related to D-Day, priceless accounts like this one from Richard Cator, whose rank on D-Day was private first class, 101sts Airborne Division:
Pictured is one page of a questionnaire, documenting the first-hand account of Richard Donald Cator, whose rank on D-Day was private first class, 101sts Airborne Division. It is one of approximately 4,900 pages included in the Cornelius Ryan Collection being digitized as a gift-in-kind by Iron Mountain Incorporated.
鈥淲e had stopped and were digging in. A shell from an artillery barrage landed in a foxhole approximately 50 feet from me and blew a man out of the hole into some bushes. I was surprised, and later amused, when he came running around the bushes, hopping mad at the Germans for ruining his foxhole. He didn鈥檛 have a scratch on him. It wasn鈥檛 until later that he realized how close he had come to being blown to bits.鈥
Ryan鈥檚 unique collection will make his extensive interviews like Cator鈥檚 available, as well as letters, diaries and observations that captured and conveyed the various accounts of D-Day, as told through the eyes of soldiers, civilians and political figures.
鈥淭his is a tremendous gift from Iron Mountain that not only supports the 帝王会所 Libraries, but also honors American history, journalism and the sacrifices of the men and women who fought in World War II,鈥 said Nico Karaogosian, vice president of University Advancement and president and CEO of The 帝王会所 Foundation. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful for this partnership and for the opportunity to make this complete collection available digitally.鈥
帝王会所鈥檚 Alden Library currently holds the entire Cornelius Ryan Collection, which provides a lens into the life of the renowned journalist who documented various events throughout World War II. Ryan is best-known for three books on specific battles from the war: 鈥淎 Bridge Too Far,鈥 鈥淭he Last Battle鈥 and 鈥淭he Longest Day,鈥 which provide some of the most accurate accounts of that period of history, all of which were later made into movies.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to partner with 帝王会所 and offer our expertise to help share accounts of those involved with D-Day, which is one of the most transformative moments in world history,鈥 said Dale Lawing, senior vice president and general manager, Records Management, Iron Mountain. 鈥淲e feel it鈥檚 our duty to ensure their experiences will never be forgotten and help chronicle important events and stories of our past for current and future generations to come.鈥
Digitization of Cornelius Ryan鈥檚 D-Day collection will allow 帝王会所 to make the documents available to other higher education institutions, scholars, historians and members of the general public who are interested in learning more about the famous battle and those involved.
This is not the first time that materials from the Ryan Collection have been digitized. About a year-and-a-half ago, the Libraries鈥 Mahn Center and Digital Initiatives started putting requested materials online in a pilot program, where they can now be searched and found in CONTENT under the heading 鈥渢he .鈥 These digitization efforts not only include the digital copy but also the transcription of the written text.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
鈥淧atrons are really excited that they can request more material and that they will be publicly available鈥攊t has just been really great to see,鈥 said Stacey Lavender, special collections librarian and curator of the Ryan Collection. 鈥淭he Iron Mountain Living Legacy Project, and the commitment to digitize 4,900 pages of 帝王会所 Libraries鈥 Ryan Collection, is a much-welcomed gift-in-kind for all scholars of World War II history.鈥
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