From Historical Scrapbook to AI Storytelling

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The Beck-Bookman Library


Have you been following Randy Seaver's experiments with artificial intelligence on his Genea-Musings blog? If so, you're probably familiar with his ABC Biography process, which uses AI to turn genealogical research into stories.

Recently, I had the opportunity to demonstrate AI storytelling to an AI interest group in Holton, Kansas. Since I wanted the presentation to have a local connection, I chose a historical scrapbook about Holton's Beck-Bookman Library as my source material.

The scrapbook contained newspaper articles, letters, and other documents chronicling the library's history. It provided a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how several AI tools could work together to transform historical records into different forms of storytelling.

I started with ChatGPT, using it to transcribe the scrapbook's articles and letters. Those transcriptions were compiled into a PDF that became the source material for the next steps. Using that information, ChatGPT helped create an outline of the library's history, a written narrative, and even song lyrics celebrating the library's story.

Next, I turned to Google NotebookLM, where I used the source material to generate an infographic, an audio overview, an explainer video, and a cinematic video.

Finally, I used Canva to combine audio and images into videos, including a music video based on the AI-generated song lyrics.

What began as a collection of historical documents became several different ways to tell the same story!

Of course, AI-generated narratives and videos still need to be checked against the original records. These tools can make historical information more engaging, but they can also introduce errors or embellishments.

The Beck-Bookman Library has an amazing history. Founded through the efforts of the Bookman Club in 1897, it grew from a small volunteer project into an important community institution. Its story includes dedicated women, generous donors, longtime librarians, and generations of Holton residents who benefited from their efforts.

Below are some of the videos created during this experiment. Each uses the same historical source material but presents the story in a different way.









One of my biggest takeaways from this experiment is that AI storytelling doesn't have to begin with a traditional family history or biography. A historical scrapbook, a collection of newspaper clippings, or even the records of a local organization can provide the foundation for a variety of engaging stories.

And while the technology is fascinating, the real treasure is the history preserved in those original documents.

Which of these storytelling formats do you find most engaging?


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