Electronic Data Sources

Electronic Data Sources

Discovering America's Past: A Guide to Digital Archives Across the United States

In the digital age, access to historical records and archives has never been easier. Here's a roundup of some of the most notable state archives and collaborative digital collections in the United States.

State Archives

• Wyoming Archives Digital Collections can be found at wyoour-website.wyo.gov/index.php/find-it-in-the-our-website/digital-collections and the Plains to Peaks Collective at ppc.cvlsites.org/.
• Texas Digital Archives can be found at tsl.access.preservica.com/ and Portal to Texas History at texashistory.unt.edu/.
• Digital Maryland can be found at collections.digitalmaryland.org/digital/.
• Rhode Island State Digital Archives can be found at sosri.access.preservica.com/home/.
• Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online is located at www.digitalcommonwealth.org/. The Massachusetts Historical Society can be found at www.masshist.org/collections/online.
• Digital Utah can be found at our-website.utah.gov/research/digital and the Digital Library at University of Utah at collections.lib.utah.edu/.
• New Hampshire State Archives can be found at www.sos.nh.gov/our website-and-records-management/.
• The State of Wisconsin Digital Collections can be found at uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/WI/, the Wisconsin Historical Society at www.wisconsinhistory.org/, and Recollection Wisconsin at recollectionwisconsin.org/.
• Vermont History can be found at vermonthistory.org/digital-resources/ and the Green Mountain Digital Archive at libraries.vermont.gov/green-mountain-digital-archive.
• Iowa Heritage Digital Collections can be found at www.iowaheritage.org/.
• The Bexar Archives preserve the political, military, economic, and social life of the Spanish province of Texas and the Mexican state of Coahulia y Texas.
• The South Carolina Digital Library can be found at scmemory.org/ and the University of South Carolina Digital Library at sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/digital_collections/index.php.
• Ohio Memory can be found at www.ohiomemory.org/.
• Washington State Digital Archives can be found at www.digitalour-website.wa.gov/.
• Maine Memory Network is located at www.mainememory.net/.
• Delaware Public Archives can be found at our website.delaware.gov/digital-our-website/.
• Nevada State Archives can be found at nsla.nv.gov/our-website.

Notable State Archives

Some notable state archives include the Montana Historical Society, the Nebraska Historical Society, the Nevada Historical Society, and the New Hampshire Historical Society. These institutions serve as official repositories of their states' historical documents, artifacts, photographs, and other archival materials, often dating back to the 19th century or earlier.

Collaborative Digital Collections

In terms of collaborative digital collections, there are several important multi-state and regional digital archives:

• Digital Library of South Dakota (DLSD): A collaboration among the libraries of the six South Dakota Board of Regents colleges and universities plus other state partners.
• Archives West: It contains archival and manuscript materials from institutions across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Utah.
• Archive of California (TARO), Texas Archival Resources Online, Arizona Archives Online, New Mexico Archives Online, and Minnesota Digital Library are other examples of state-specific digital collaborations.
• Digital Horizons, which includes materials from multiple institutions in Minnesota and North Dakota.
• Larger national or international collaborative digital repositories include the Digital Public Library of America, Internet Archive, and the World Digital Library, offering access to a broad range of digitized historical records.

Federal Level

At the federal level, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official archive for U.S. federal records, with extensive holdings and a network of Presidential Libraries and research facilities. NARA oversees federal records management and provides access to millions of digitized records through its online catalog, though only a fraction of its 13 billion pages are digitized.

Special Collections

• Founders Online contains the papers to and from George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin. It has 185,000 searchable documents.
• Black Abolitionist Papers can be accessed by subscription at bap.chadwyck.com/marketing/.
• Densho Archives contain primary sources that document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s, with a strong focus on the World War II mass incarceration. It can be found at densho.org/our-website.
• The Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks Petitions Project is a searchable database of detailed personal information about slaves, slaveholders, and free people of color. It can be found at library.uncg.edu/slavery/petitions/index.aspx?s=1.

These archives and collaborative projects collectively support broad public access to historical and government records at the state and national levels in the United States.

In the realm of collaborative digital initiatives, the Digital Library of South Dakota (DLSD) and Digital Horizons are notable multi-state collections, connecting libraries from multiple South Dakota institutions and various North Dakota institutions respectively.

Finance and business sectors play a crucial role in preserving history, with organizations such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) increasingly relying on industry partners and digital finance solutions to digitize and manage their extensive collections more efficiently.

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