Touring US Collections: Free Access to History

Free online access to history is an important tool for understanding our past, present and future. Cultural heritage organizations work to not only preserve the physical objects under their care but to also make them accessible to the widest possible audience through digitization, description and online access. The Colorado State Library actively supports Colorado and Wyoming museums, archives, libraries, and historical societies (etc.) in these efforts through the Plains to Peaks Collective (PPC), a hub of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).

What is the DPLA?

The DPLA is a free online platform that allows users to search and view the digitized historic collections of institutions found throughout the United States including the National Archives and Records Administration and the Smithsonian. Institutions, large and small, share their collections with their state’s DPLA hub who in turn shares it with the DPLA. There are currently over 52 million unique items in the DPLA that can be browsed and searched from the comfort of one’s own home. Included in this collection are over 1 million items from collections in Colorado and Wyoming.

What Can be Discovered?

The easy to use DPLA site allows users to do a simple search of all the collections. For example, a search for the “Great Depression” results in 12,656 items representative of that topic from 50 different institutions. The results can be further narrowed in a variety of ways including by type (text, image, moving image, etc.), date range, location or by contributing institution. From there users can learn more about each item and can view the digitized item at the home institution.

Why is this helpful?

Cultural heritage institutions offer many ways to engage with their collections online. But with so many online collections out there it can be difficult for most people to find exactly what they are looking for. The DPLA and the institutions that participate save users time by bringing these collections under one search – making it easy to start research. The site offers users the ability to save searches under “My lists” as well as access to online exhibits and primary source sets. Students, teachers, scholars, genealogists, and lifelong learners can all find useful resources in the DPLA and all of this is available for free.

Want to learn more?

If you have questions about how to use the DPLA for research or if you are an institution that would like to share your collections with the DPLA please reach out to me, Leigh Jeremias, at Jeremias_L@cde.state.co.us.