AI in the Archives
How AI is transforming archival research from institutions to content providers
How AI is transforming archival research from institutions to content providers
Webinar: February 27, 2026
11 AM - 12 PM EST
4 PM - 5 PM GMT
Explore how leading institutions and content providers are harnessing AI to expand new possibilities for discovery. From Vanderbilt University to ProQuest, this session highlights real-world applications of AI in digitized archives, from handwritten text recognition to machine translation, and shows how these innovations empower researchers while making rare and fragile content more widely accessible.
If you can't attend the live session, register and we'll send you the recording following the webinar.
Featured panelists:
Daniel Genkins, Assistant Professor and Executive Director, Slave Societies Digital Archive (SSDA) will share how SSDA preserves the most extensive serial records on Africans in the Atlantic World, spanning over 700,000 digitized images from the 16th - 20th centuries. These materials document the lives of 4 - 6 million individuals and include valuable insights on the Indigenous, European, and Asian populations who lived alongside them.
Jim Duran, Director, Vanderbilt Television News Archive will present an inside look at the digitization and transcription of 62,000 hours of U.S. television news using AWS machine learning. He will share what processes were automated, what required human review, and how full-text, segmented transcripts are advancing news research and discovery.
Farhana Hoque, Senior Product Manager, ProQuest One Global & International Studies and ProQuest One History will highlight AI-powered innovations in ProQuest Digital Collections including handwritten text recognition, foreign-language translation, and ProQuest Research Assistant, demonstrating how AI can enhance engagement with historical content.