Religion News Service (RNS) and Presbyterian Historical Society (PHS) are pleased to announce the launch of a new Instagram account that will feature digitized archival RNS images.
PHS is in the process of digitizing select images from its collection of over 60,000 RNS images from 1945 to 1982. This digitization began with a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant, which was completed in 2019. PHS will continue to scan these photographs on a smaller scale. A new Instagram account, @RNS.at.PHS, will feature RNS archival images and their backstories, as well as context about the ongoing digitization project.
“These images capture fascinating slices of 20th century American religious history,” Deborah Caldwell, RNS publisher, said. “We are thrilled to partner with the Presbyterian Historical Society to share this trove of photos with the public.”
The account will be managed by RNS’s social media team with the assistance of PHS staff.
PHS Executive Director Nancy J. Taylor, who led the NEH digitization project, looks forward to more people learning about the historic RNS photos.
“Images bring an immediacy to history that is very powerful. Viewers will have the opportunity to see this post-World War II era in new ways, and we’re excited to team with Religion News Service to make that possible,” said Taylor.
The project serves to highlight the exemplary work of PHS in digitizing and preserving these images for the public, as well as to showcase RNS’s excellent journalism over the past 80+ years.
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About Religion News Service
Religion News Service is an independent, nonprofit and award-winning source of global news on religion, spirituality, culture and ethics, reported by a staff of professional journalists. Founded in 1934, RNS seeks to inform readers with objective reporting and insightful commentary and is relied upon by secular and faith-based news organizations in a number of countries. RNS is affiliated with Religion News Foundation and the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. For more information, visit religionnews.com.
About Presbyterian Historical Society
Organized in 1852, the Presbyterian Historical Society is the oldest denominational archives in the United States and serves as the national archives for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its predecessor denominations. PHS exists to collect, preserve, and share the story of the American Presbyterian and Reformed experience with Presbyterians, the scholarly community, and the general public. For more information, visit www.history.pcusa.org.
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