A black-and-white photograph of a man speaking passionately through a megaphone at an outdoor gathering. He wears a light shirt under a dark sweater and stands above a crowd, with trees visible in the background. Several people in the foreground, some with light-colored hair and glasses, listen closely and raise their hands.

Phiz Mezey. Bridges Randall speaking with bullhorn at San Francisco State student strike. 1968. San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library. Reveal Digital.

This blog post is part of a series dedicated to celebrating JSTOR’s 30th anniversary. Explore the whole series.

I did not know about Reveal Digital on JSTOR when I first started in my current position. Reveal Digital is an open-access primary source collection on JSTOR featuring underrepresented 20th-century voices of dissent, crowdfunded by libraries.

What struck me immediately was the range of materials in the collection—from black-and-white photos of 1960s and 70s student activism, hand-written notes written to Coretta Scott King, prison newsletters from across the U.S., to radio recordings at the 1956 Democratic National Convention. 

What distinguishes Reveal Digital from other collections is its unique focus on social movements and marginalized groups. As a sociology instructor, I quickly became an ardent advocate. Each collection has interdisciplinary value and serves as a powerful resource for in-class activities, assignments, and group projects, giving students opportunities to develop their own understandings of historical actors beyond lectures and textbooks.

Naturally, I became very curious about the behind-the-scenes work it took to develop a collection of more than 70,000 items across multiple series. To learn more, I spoke with Peggy Glahn, Associate Director of Reveal Digital, who builds awareness of its programs and leads fundraising efforts.

“For someone who’s never heard of Reveal Digital, how would you describe it in your own words?”

Peggy: Reveal Digital enables collaborative library digitization and publishing of primary source collections that are openly available to everyone. We do so by deploying a unique library crowdfunding and crowdsourcing approach to publishing scholarly collections focused on social movements, hidden voices and marginalized communities.

“Can you share the brief origin story of Reveal Digital?”

Peggy: Our roots go back to 2012, when crowdfunding was just beginning to take off. Kickstarter had shown that individuals would invest modest amounts to support meaningful projects. Jeff Moyer, Reveal Digital’s founder, adapted that concept for institutions: academic libraries would act as the contributors, funding projects that served unmet research needs.

Our first project, Independent Voices, was ambitious—nearly $2M to cover the cost of digitizing and publishing a 750,000-page collection. It took five years to reach the goal, but the model worked. Libraries not only provided funds but also the source materials that made the project possible. Today, Independent Voices is available on JSTOR with over 2 million item views.

“Reveal Digital emphasizes “voices of dissent.” Why this focus?”

Peggy: Since our founding, uncovering hidden and marginalized voices, often those of dissent, has been at our core. This work is vital to providing balance in the research record, yet few publishers have been able or willing to pursue it. As a nonprofit with an open-content model, Reveal Digital is uniquely positioned to do so.

“What has been the biggest challenge in growing Reveal Digital?”

Peggy: We want to be trustworthy stewards of the dollars contributed to our work. Our first priority is to funnel as much money as possible into the sourcing and digitization work. As a result, we run a pretty lean ship. We don’t have a large staff of people available to do marketing and outreach. It is a challenge to determine the right balance between hiring people to do outreach vs. spending those dollars on publishing activities.  

“Today, Reveal Digital includes more than 70,000 items across six collections. What has made this growth possible?”

Peggy: The answer is a resounding thank you to more than 100 academic libraries in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. These partners have consistently and enthusiastically provided source material, funding, and wise counsel throughout the decade we have been in business.

There would be no Reveal Digital, Independent Voices, or any of our other collections without the close collaboration of the academic library community. In addition, our move to ITHAKA in 2019 was the perfect response to questions about our ability to ensure long-term preservation and sustainable access. Now that our collections are part of JSTOR and preserved in Portico, we can confidently say they will remain available to generations of learners to come.

“What’s one thing you wish more people knew about Reveal Digital?”

Peggy: I love this question. When I talk to people for the first time about Reveal Digital, I often hear concern that our sourcing model is too good to be true. Our approach to working with source libraries is a great model and there really are no “catches.” 

When a library provides us with content from their archives for inclusion in one of our collections, there is no cost to the library. We even pay for shipping. Once we complete the digitization process, we add their content to the collection on JSTOR and send a copy of all the digital files (images, ocr text, metadata) back to the library to do with whatever they wish. We do not ask for exclusive use of their material, and we seek no ownership of the digital files. The costs are covered by the pool of dollars contributed to the project by other libraries. In the end, we all win by making content that would otherwise be hidden away in archives available to researchers wherever they may be.   

“Do you have a personal favorite collection or item from Reveal Digital?”

Peggy: I have a different favorite every week! I definitely suffer from recency bias. Right now, I am drawn to the photographs of Phiz Mezey. Ms. Mezey was a San Francisco photographer whose photos put you right in the middle of civil rights protests. We recently added 63 of her photographs to our Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movements collection. I think this material will engage and add depth to people’s understanding of civil rights activism during the 1960s. I particularly love the poignancy of this photograph.

A young Black boy sits beside a large bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, holding a protest sign with a drawing of a Ku Klux Klan hooded figure labeled “THE LAW.” The handwritten caption at the bottom reads “Support Alabama 1963.”

Phiz Mezey. Child holding picket sign while sitting on the lap of Lincoln monument outside City Hall. 1963. San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library. Reveal Digital.

Reveal Digital is not a static archive. Its collections continue to grow as Peggy and her team collaborate with partner institutions to amplify voices that have historically been marginalized.

Explore the compelling content on Reveal Digital and learn how you can use open-access resources like this to help students practice analytical skills with primary sources. You can also learn how to contribute and support Reveal Digital’s mission here.

About the author

Rumika Suzuki Hillyer is a Content & Community Engagement Manager at ITHAKA, where she leverages her teaching background and social media skills to connect with a diverse range of JSTOR users. From enrolling in an ESL program at a community college to earning a doctoral degree in sociology, Rumika has developed a comprehensive understanding of various tiers of higher education in the U.S. and their associated challenges. She is excited to embark on her journey with ITHAKA, where she hopes to contribute to its mission and promote accessible and equitable higher education for all.