A few months ago I came across What's on the Menu?, a website run by the New York Public Library. I thought it was the coolest project ever - anyone, anywhere could participate in history by transcribing and interacting with primary documents. Additionally, the transcription of the menus has allowed anyone access to useful information for research. For example, I looked up the dish "Squash Pie" and was able to see the earliest and latest dates it appeared on menus, the lowest and highest price, a chronological timeline depicting the frequency in the collection, and links to related dishes. This could be extremely useful for someone studying menus or the history of a particular food or dish. The website also allows anyone to download data spreadsheets. A What's on the Menu? blog highlights interesting or relevant parts of the project and collection.
What's on the Menu is just one of the NYPL's many digitization projects. Other projects include Map Warper, Musical Theater Online, Biblion, and Yizkor (Holocaust Memorial) Books. This is just a very, very small selection of the huge number of websites the library runs.
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