Digitize New York has had many exciting moments since launching in 2023, but this initiative may have reached its most significant milestone yet—its one millionth scan in April 2026.
Preserving at-risk historical records and improving access for those researching New York family history are central to the NYG&B’s mission. To advance this work, Digitize New York was created to help communities across the State preserve their records and make them more accessible. Through this initiative, organizations can either submit their records for preservation at one of the NYG&B’s Digitization Centers or request a digitization kit that empowers them to preserve records at their own sites—at no cost to participating organizations.
Reaching one million scans reflects the strong commitment between the NYG&B and the many organizations and individuals working together to safeguard historical records and who make Digitize New York possible. From record custodians at historical societies, religious institutions, local governments, and private collections, to the volunteers who scan, organize, and index materials, this 1-millionth-scan achievement is a true group effort: nearly 300 volunteers and more than 35 partner organizations and municipalities have made this happen.
Digitize New York’s Origins and Growth
What initially began as a small pilot project just a few years ago has burgeoned into a statewide effort to preserve New York’s historical records. The roots of Digitize New York trace back to the Upstate Initiative, which focused on locating and digitizing materials in Central New York, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. In 2023, the NYG&B also launched its first Digitization Center at its New York City headquarters, bolstering the organization’s ability to make historical records available online at newyorkfamilyhistory.org. These efforts came together the same year to make free digitization services available to record holders across the State.
Since then, Digitize New York has developed into a fully statewide effort that continues to grow steadily each year. What started in 2023 with a single Copibook scanner in New York City has expanded into a broader network of Digitization Centers and tools that aims to reach all corners of New York State. The initiative now includes additional Digitization Centers in Syracuse and Buffalo, along with 20 portable digitization kits (and counting) that support preservation work in communities statewide.
This growth reflects both increased demand for digitization tools and strong community support. By offering free digitization services, equipment, training, and volunteer support, Digitize New York helps remove financial barriers that might otherwise prevent organizations, municipalities, and individuals from preserving their records.
Volunteer-Powered Preservation
Volunteers are at the heart of Digitize New York. Since 2023, 292 volunteers have dedicated more than 5,100 hours to digitizing at-risk records. In just the past six months, volunteers contributed 950 hours—accounting for 19% of all volunteer hours ever logged for Digitize New York. Whether faced with crumbling pages, buried text in the gutter of a bound volume, or even the presence of unwanted insects, our volunteers remain committed to handling each document with the utmost care throughout the digitization process.
Many volunteers are avid family researchers and feel that their contributions to Digitize New York are a way to give back to others working on breaking through research brick walls. Michael Dudley, a volunteer at the Western New York Digitization Center in Buffalo, has built out his own family tree by using digital collections. “I was grateful to all the anonymous people who did the work to make those materials available to me,” says Dudley. “I love that my time with the NYG&B is making New York history accessible to more people. For many people, travelling to an archive or sending a research request is cost- and time-prohibitive. Sometimes just determining whether a record exists and where it is located can be a challenge. The NYG&B's Digitize New York initiative is changing that.”
Michael Dudley digitizes materials from the Niagara County Historical Society at the Western New York Digitization Center.
The Records Behind the Millionth Scan
Many partners and projects have collectively propelled Digitize New York to reach one million scans. Since the initiative’s inception, we’ve worked with more than 35 partners in 30 New York counties to digitize records and make them accessible online for the public. With so much activity, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact one millionth scan that was reached in April 2026.
Instead, we can highlight some of the current projects and partners that helped us reach this benchmark. Currently, Digitize New York has 15 active projects underway across all three Digitization Centers, with 10 digitization kits in use in the field. Volunteers and project partners contribute an average of 50 hours of scanning each week.
Current Digitize New York Projects
- New York City Digitization Center
- Sons of the Revolution in the State of New York (SRNY)
- Central New York Digitization Center
- Jefferson County Historical Society
- Western New York Digitization Center
- Niagara County Historical Society
- Western New York Genealogical Society
- Digitization Kits
- Albany Diocesan Cemeteries (Albany County)
- North Farmington Cemetery Association (Wayne County)
- Wyckoff House Museum (Brooklyn, Kings County)
- Village of Sackets Harbor and Town of Hounsfield (Jefferson County)
- Town of Plattekill (Ulster County)
- Dundee Area Historical Society (Yates County)
- Haviland-Heidgerd Historical Collection and Audrey M. Klinkenberg Collection, Elting Memorial Library (New Paltz, Ulster County)
- The Twentieth Century Club of Buffalo (Erie County)
- Village of Belle Terre (Suffolk County)
- Town of Covert (Seneca County)
Constance Barone, historian for Sackets Harbor and Hounsfield in Jefferson County, received a digitization kit in fall 2025 and has so far scanned more than 1,300 images, documents, and ephemera related to the Village’s army post Madison Barracks (1816–1947). “Through the Digitize New York project this extensive collection will become available for researching the people associated with the army post over the past 200 years,” says Barone. “Individuals in the military, civilian employees, and community residents all interacted at the Army's Madison Barracks. This story can now be told in greater depth. Lacking opportunities for so many organizations to record and disseminate the state's diverse archival collections makes the Digitize New York initiative the perfect solution.”
Constance Barone, historian for Sackets Harbor and Hounsfield, with her loaned digitization kit.
Nancy Riggs, president of the Candor Historical Society, whose organization recently made A Chronological History of the Town of Candor available online through Digitize New York, shared similar insights on the initiative’s impact. “We certainly would not have been able to afford it. I really think people should take advantage of [Digitize New York] because it’s a great program. Now I’m thinking of all the other things we could digitize!” says Riggs.
Looking Toward the Milestones Ahead
Reaching one million scans shows the strong commitment to preserving historical records across New York and reflects the collaborations that make Digitize New York possible. As we continue to grow a statewide network of partners, volunteers, and community champions we look forward to expanding the program by opening additional Digitization Centers in other regions of the State, offering educational workshops on digitization best practices, and deploying more digitization kits to communities. This work will help ensure that New York’s records are preserved and made accessible to the public for years to come.
How to Get Involved
You can support Digitize New York and help us reach our next millionth scan!
Become a Partner
- Complete a Digitize New York project application at newyorkfamilyhistory.org/digitize or inquire at [email protected]
Volunteer
- Learn to scan and process at one of our Digitization Centers or contribute to a remote indexing project by emailing [email protected]
Spread the Word & Support
- A vocal community drives partnerships and preservation impact—we appreciate your support!
- Make a gift to help expand Digitize New York and further its impact at newyorkfamilyhistory.org/donate