A recent NDIIPP intern, Ingrid Jernudd, did some research into current web resources that provide digital access to a broad array of primary source materials at the state level. She prepared a list of sites that billed themselves as general-interest portals to historical resources. Although the list is likely incomplete, I was surprised she found so many.
It is worth bearing in mind also that the list, with one exception, does not include local or municipal websites (the one exception is the Denver Public Library; its Western History and Genealogy site is included because it has resources that extend beyond Denver proper).
Most of the materials available through these websites are digitized versions of analog items. Many of the sites could, however, accommodate born digital content, as well as serve as useful models for the ongoing development of access to cultural heritage resources.
Ingrid’s findings are presented in the two tables below. Table 1 lists 66 websites that relate to individual states. Table 2 lists five sites that cover multiple states. If you know of resources that are not listed here, please let us know via a comment.
Table 1, State Digital Portals
State | Resource | Website |
AL | Alabama Dept. of Archives and History Digital Collections | http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/ |
Alabama Virtual Library | http://www.avl.lib.al.us/ | |
AK | Alaska’s Digital Archives | http://vilda.alaska.edu/ |
AR | Arkansas History Commission | http://www.ark-ives.com/ |
Arkansas State Library Digital Collections | http://cdm16039.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ | |
AZ | Arizona Memory Project | http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/ |
Arizona Cultural Inventory Project | http://cip.azlibrary.gov/ | |
CA | Calisphere | http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/ |
California State Library Online Resources | http://www.library.ca.gov/services/online-resources.html | |
CO | Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy | http://digital.denverlibrary.org/ |
CT | Connecticut Digital Collections | http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/pages/connecticut-digital-colle |
DE | Delaware Public Archives | http://archives.delaware.gov/ |
FL | Florida Memory | http://www.floridamemory.com/ |
GA | Digital Library of Georgia | http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ |
Georgia’s Virtual Vault | http://cdm.georgiaarchives.org:2011/cdm/ | |
HA | Hawaii State Archives Digital Collections | http://archives1.dags.hawaii.gov/gsdl/cgi-bin/library |
IA | Iowa State Historical Society Digital Archives | http://www.iowahistory.org/libraries/index.html |
Iowa Heritage Digital Collections | http://www.iowaheritage.org/ | |
ID | Idaho State Historical Society Digital Collections | http://idahohistory.cdmhost.com/ |
IL | Illinois Digital Archives | http://www.idaillinois.org/ |
Explorie Illinois: Illinois Digital Archives | http://www.finditillinois.org/ida/ | |
IN | Indiana Memory | http://www.in.gov/memories/index.html |
KS | Kansas Historical Society State Archives | http://www.kshs.org/p/state-archives-library/11933 |
KY | Kentucky Digital Library | http://kdl.kyvl.org/ |
LA | LOUISiana Digital Library | http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/ |
LDMA (Louisiana Digital Media Archive) | http://ldma.lpb.org/about-ldma | |
MA | Digital Commonwealth: Massachusetts Collections Online | http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/ |
Massachusetts Boards of Library Commissioners Digital Collections | http://mblc.state.ma.us/books/digital/ | |
MD | Maryland Historical Society Online Collections | http://www.mdhs.org/museum/collections-online |
Archives of Maryland Online | http://ow.ly/p8kO4 | |
ME | Maine Memory Network | http://www.mainememory.net/ |
MI | Seeking Michigan | http://seekingmichigan.org/ |
MN | Minnesota Digital Library | http://www.mndigital.org/ |
MO | Missouri Digital Heritage | http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/ |
MS | Mississippi Department of Archives and History: Digital Archives | http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/ |
MT | Montana Memory Project | http://mtmemory.org/ |
NC | North Carolina Digital Collections | http://digital.ncdcr.gov/ |
North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online | http://www.ncecho.org/ | |
North Carolina’s Digital Collections | http://digitalnc.org/collections | |
ND | State Historical Society of North Dakota Digital Resources | http://www.history.nd.gov/archives/digitalresources.html |
NE | Virtual Exhibits of the Nebraska State Historical Society | http://nebraskahistory.org/exhibits/index.shtml |
NJ | New Jersey Digital Highway | http://www.njdigitalhighway.org/ |
NM | New Mexico State Library Digital Archive | http://ow.ly/p8hrp |
NV | Nevada Statewide Digital Initiative | http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/ |
NY | New York Heritage Digital Collections | http://www.newyorkheritage.org/ |
New York Department of Records Photo Gallery | http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/gallery/home.shtml | |
New York Public Library Digital Gallery | http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/explore/ | |
OH | Ohio Memory | http://www.ohiomemory.org/ |
OK | Oklahoma Digital Prairie | http://digitalprairie.ok.gov/ |
OR | Oregon Digital Library Project | http://odl.library.oregonstate.edu/record/search |
PA | Digital Collections at the State Library of Pennsylvania | http://ow.ly/p8hv3 |
Historical Society of Pennsylvania Digital Library | http://digitallibrary.hsp.org/ | |
RI | State of Rhode Island Virtual Archives | http://sos.ri.gov/virtualarchives/ |
SC | South Carolina Digital Library | http://www.scmemory.org/ |
SD | South Dakota State Historical Society Digital Archives | http://sddigitalarchives.contentdm.oclc.org/ |
Digital Library of South Dakota | http://dlsd.sdln.net/index.php | |
TN | Tennessee State Library and Archives: Digital Collections | http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/resources/index.htm |
Volunteer Voices | http://www.volunteervoices.org/ | |
TX | Northeast Texas Digital Collections | http://dmc.tamu-commerce.edu/ |
UT | Digital Utah | http://pioneer.utah.gov/digital/utah.html |
VA | Virginia Memory | http://www.virginiamemory.com/collections/ |
VT | Vermont Folklife Center | http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/digital-archive/collections/ |
WI | State of Wisconsin Collection | http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/WI |
WV | West Virginia Division of Culture and History Online Exhibits | http://www.wvculture.org/museum/exhibitsonline.html |
WY | Wyoming Memory | http://www.wyomingmemory.org/ |
Table 2, Multi-State Digital Portals
States | Resource | Website |
CO, NM, WY | Rocky Mountain Online Archive | http://rmoa.unm.edu/ |
IL, IN | Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Gallery | http://www.umvphotoarchive.org/ |
MN, ND | Digital Horizons: A Plains Media Resource | http://digitalhorizonsonline.org/ |
UT, NV, ID, AZ, HI | Mountain West Digital Library | http://mwdl.org/ |
Various | Digital Public Library of America | http://dp.la |
Update: Corrected links to the Vermont Folklife Center and the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Gallery.