Museums, Libraries, and Archives Online
Museums, libraries, and archives are taking advantage of how the internet provides people with increased access to information. These institutions are rapidly moving to digitize their holdings to make them more accessible to patrons and researchers. Each type of institution has a different purpose in their digitization effort, some provide access to each individual resource with varying degrees of searchability while others organize their collections into online exhibits. Here are a few examples of the many digital repository projects that currently exist.
Examples of Digital Archives and Exhibits
- American Memory This link opens in a new windowOnline collection of written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music documenting the American experience.
- Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the largest library in the world. It is the library of the U.S. Congress and home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Search their website for digital collections.
- Digital Public Library of AmericaThe DPLA is a digital resource portal, providing one search entry into the digital collections of a wide variety of institutions, including the University of Virginia and Harvard. It also includes exhibits which use resources available through the DPLA.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowCollection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
- Internet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit website offering access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. The Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages.