Mission
Recollection Wisconsin connects cultural heritage institutions statewide to preserve, promote, and facilitate digital access to Wisconsin’s rich history through collaboration and shared infrastructure.
Vision
Recollection Wisconsin envisions a connected future preserving all voices through the visibility and exploration of the rich and complex history of our state.
Recollection Wisconsin brings together digital cultural heritage resources from Wisconsin libraries, archives, museums and historical societies and shares them with the world in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America.
Our Values
Wisconsin Identity
Our work reflects Wisconsin’s dedication to education, collaboration, and community, emphasizing that the state’s history is a vital part of its future. Inspired by the Wisconsin Idea, Recollection Wisconsin aims to promote the public good.
Access
Recollection Wisconsin champions public access to a wide array of cultural heritage primary source materials.
Representation
Recollection Wisconsin aspires to preserve the diverse voices, perspectives, and community histories that reflect the full scope of Wisconsin’s heritage.
Stewardship
Recollection Wisconsin manages our resources in a careful and responsible manner so that Wisconsin’s history is safeguarded for future generations. We prioritize the sustainability of our operations, considering environmental, community, and financial impacts of our work.
Integrity
Recollection Wisconsin acts with integrity, guided by the principles of transparency, honesty, fairness, and respect for the communities we serve.
Collaboration
Recollection Wisconsin works to strengthen the statewide cultural heritage network by collaborating with our partners, drawing on and amplifying their talents and expertise.
Innovation
Recollection Wisconsin continually seeks new ways to enhance services to better support our mission and vision.
Adaptability
Recollection Wisconsin builds relationships by meeting organizations and individuals where they are, adapting to the unique needs of each partner, and offering relevant, responsive guidance to ensure their digital projects thrive.
What We Do
- SHARE hundreds of thousands of photographs, maps, letters, diaries, oral histories, artifacts and other historical resources from more than 200 Wisconsin libraries, museums and other cultural heritage institutions of all sizes. These local treasures represent every county in the state and are freely and openly available to all. Users can search all items contributed by our Content Partners or browse collections to explore a particular subject (like industry or immigration) or a specific format (like maps or yearbooks).
- ELEVATE our state’s history and culture to a national stage as a partner in the Digital Public Library of America. DPLA amplifies the value of libraries and cultural organizations as Americans’ most trusted sources of shared knowledge by making millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience.
- HELP Wisconsin libraries, archives, historical societies and museums bring their unique collections online. With our centralized statewide support for training, standards, content hosting and access, local organizations can focus on recording and sharing community memory, without reinventing the wheel for each new digital project. Our Digital Projects Toolkit provides free resources for all steps of a digitization project, including planning, copyright, scanning, metadata and storage.
- AMPLIFY the impact of federal, state and local investments. Much of the content that can be discovered here was made available online thanks to federal, state or local grants to libraries and historical societies from funders including IMLS (through the LSTA Grants-to-States program), National Endowment for the Humanities, Wisconsin Council for Local History, Wisconsin Humanities Council, University of Wisconsin System and various community-based donors. Recollection Wisconsin extends the visibility and use of these grant-funded projects by connecting local collections to state and national audiences.
Who We Serve
The free, centralized access we provide to our state’s history and culture benefits many users: students, teachers, genealogists, academic researchers and all Wisconsinites who want to learn more about the place they call home.
- K-12 TEACHERS AND STUDENTS can use our classroom activities and lesson plans for teaching Social Studies and English Language Arts. Recollection Wisconsin’s growing collection of primary and secondary sources is an ideal source for students participating in National History Day.
- GENEALOGISTS can dive into city directories, Sanborn maps, marriage records and other documents from communities across Wisconsin to support their family history research. Recollection Wisconsin was named one of the Best State Websites for Genealogy by Family Tree Magazine.
- LIFELONG LEARNERS can explore our online exhibits, curated galleries that offer a closer look at the stories of our state. Topics range from the fight for fair housing in Milwaukee in the 1960s, curated by historian Mark Speltz, to an overview of sausage-making traditions in Wisconsin, contributed by food writer Terese Allen.
Who We Are
Recollection Wisconsin is a consortium administered by WiLS and managed by six Governing Partners: Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Milwaukee Public Library and Marquette University. Find out more about our Governing Board and Steering Committee.
Primary funding support for Recollection Wisconsin is provided by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Learn more about our other funding sources and history of grants.
