The Cambria Memory Project Honored As Runner-Up For The Noel Prize
Posted October 6, 2025 at 1:39 pmPennsylvania Highlands Community College’s Cambria Memory Project was chosen as first runner-up for the inaugural Noel Prize by the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, Inc. (PACSCL).
The Cambria Memory Project focused on preserving the history of a rural community, with an emphasis on underrepresented populations, including the history of African American, Jewish, and woman’s organizations and education in Cambria County.
“It’s such an honor to be a runner-up winner of the Noel Prize and to have the Cambria Memory Project recognized as an outstanding example of open access and digital preservation,” stated Dr. Barbara Zaborowski, Dean of Library Services & Special Projects at Pennsylvania Highlands.
Penn Highlands was runner-up to the National Indian Boarding School Digital Archive of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Six Honorable Mention selections were also awarded.
“The Committee was impressed with the project description,” stated Beth Lander, Managing Director of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries. “They agreed that the project fulfills the ideals of the prize: an open access project, of high value to its audiences and stakeholder communities, and that is significant relative to the size of the institution that undertook it.”
The PACSCL created the Noel Prize to honor its late chair, Dr. William Noel, in recognition of achievements in open access, a focus of Noel’s work.
Noel, who passed away in April 2024, was the Associate Librarian for Special Collections at Princeton University. He served on PACSCL’s Board of Directors from 2015-22 and was Chair of the Board from 2019-22.