Visitors to Princeton University Library (PUL), Princeton Public Library, and the Stoutsburg Sourlands African American Museum (SSAAM) celebrated the life and legacy of abolitionist Frederick Douglass on February 14 by participating in the Library of Congress’ Douglass Day Transcribe-a-thon. 

Co-sponsored by PUL and the Center for Digital Humanities, and held on Valentine’s Day, which is Douglass’ chosen birthday, the transcribe-a-thon is a national, publicly-supported effort to digitize materials related to Black history. PUL is in its third year of involvement, with participants in the 2025 celebration transcribing materials from the Library of Congress.

According to Jennifer Grayburn, Assistant Director of Research Data and Open Scholarship, almost 6,000 pages from the African American Perspectives in Print collection were transcribed and reviewed, with another 4,000 transcribed, but awaiting review.

“Our combined event saw over 40 participants contribute to these efforts, bringing together participants from the university, town, and surrounding schools,” said Grayburn.

“The obvious purpose of Douglass Day events is to make the materials more legible and also able to be searched by computers,” said Steven Knowlton, Librarian for History and African American Studies, in his opening remarks at the Princeton Public Library celebration. 

“While very dedicated researchers will persist in the hard work of reading 19th-century handwriting, the more easily found and searchable a document is, the more students and even experienced researchers will make use of it,” Knowlton said.

Within the collections available for transcription this year were the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Records, the Booker T. Washington Papers, and the Daniel A.P. Murray Collections. 

The latter collection is named for one of the earliest known Black librarians who worked at the Library of Congress from 1871 until his retirement in 1922.

“Among his work, Murray compiled an outstanding collection of pamphlets by Black authors that is still widely used by historians,” Knowlton said. 

“Even more important, Murray compiled bibliographies and collected biographical information about every known African American author up to his day,” Knowlton added. “No one had ever made clear the breadth and depth of Black literary and scholarly production until Daniel Murray set out to correct the historical record.”

In addition to the transcription event, the Douglas Day Celebration included lunch, a cake cutting, and a virtual tour of the SSAAM.

Visitors at the Stoutsburg Sourlands African American Museum were also encouraged to take self-guided tours through the Mount Zion American Methodist Episcopal Church, which actively served a Black congregation until 2005.  

The celebration was rounded out by a Special Collections Showcase featuring items by, about, and related to Douglass. Organized by Emma Sarconi, Reference and Outreach Specialist, and Grayburn, the showcase featured a Libertytown, Maryland tavern ledger that lists members of the local free, African American community, a letter from Douglass to William Henry Johnson, and a 1969 illustrated children’s magazine detailing Douglass’ life. 

“I always want people to feel connected to history. Showing something in Douglass’ own handwriting can be a transformative moment for someone,” said Sarconi.