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.
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.
