In 2010, the Crete Public Library received a grant from the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board to digitize glass plate negatives from the historical collection of the late Ray Piepenbrink. This was the beginning of the Capturing Crete digitization project. The Crete Area Historical Society, in cooperation with the Library, continues to identify materials relevant to local history, digitally preserve them, and make them available to all in an accessible format.
In the future, the Library hopes to digitize the local newspaper collection, which is currently held in hard copy only.
A significant collection of historical images can be found on Facebook on the Crete Township Pictures, Illinois page, or visit the Crete Area Historical Society on their Facebook page.
If you would like more information or if you have materials you think might be important to the project, please contact the Library at 708-672-8017.