Yonkers Public Library Joins Global Effort to Preserve Local History
Selected for International Digital Archiving Program, YPL Invites the Community to Share Photos, Videos, and Other Digital Memories
Yonkers Public Library (YPL) is proud to announce its selection into the 2026 Community Webs New York Cohort, an initiative led by the Internet Archive in partnership with New York State’s Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY). By participating in this program, YPL will collect and preserve digital content documenting the news, culture, and civic life of Yonkers.
The Community Webs program supports libraries, archives, and historical organizations in building web archiving collections that capture local digital history—such as government websites, community organization pages, social media, and online news. YPL is one of the first 200 organizations to join the Community Webs program worldwide, and the first organization in Westchester County to do so.
“YPL’s acceptance into this program is an honor,” said Nancy Maron, president of the YPL Board of Trustees, “and reflects the dedication of YPL’s administration to broadening the library’s value to Yonkers in new and innovative ways.”
As part of the program, YPL staff will receive hands-on training in web archiving techniques, access to specialized tools from the Internet Archive, and opportunities to collaborate with peer institutions across New York State and the nation. These collections are made publicly accessible through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, ensuring that today’s digital records of local news and life in Yonkers remain available to future generations.
DHPSNY supports cultural heritage organizations in preserving and improving access to their historical records. Funded by the New York State Education Department, DHPSNY offers free services to libraries, archives and historical societies. YPL has previously benefited from DHPSNY’s services through an archival needs assessment grant, which provided staff with expert guidance on the library’s local history archive and collections. Participation in the Community Webs program builds on that foundation by extending YPL’s preservation efforts into the digital realm.
“Much of our community’s story is being recorded online,” said Library Director Jesse Montero. “From local news websites to social media accounts of local influencers, digital platforms are increasingly central to chronicling news and daily life in Yonkers. Today’s local news will become our future local history and through the Community Webs program, we are ensuring that history will be preserved for future generations.”
The first website to officially join YPL’s Community Webs site is The Yonkers Ledger.“We are excited by this opportunity to partner with YPL to archive important stories from The Yonkers Ledger, past, present and future. The internet can be less permanent than we think, and keeping local journalism accessible in the online archive is essential for historical purposes.” said Ruth Walter, the Ledger’s publisher.
YPL encourages local news sites and individuals to participate in the program by sharing digital content – ranging from blog posts to videos to social media feeds – related to Yonkers culture and history. Interested parties can contact localhistory@ypl.org.
YPL’s participation reflects its ongoing commitment to preserving Yonkers’ past while embracing innovative strategies to document its present.
For more information about Yonkers Public Library, visit www.ypl.org.
