Recollection Wisconsin Statement on Harmful Content and Culturally Sensitive Materials

Harmful Content

Recollection Wisconsin provides access to historical materials collected by Wisconsin libraries, archives, museums, and other organizations for the purposes of education, research, and preservation. These materials represent a wide range of cultures and time periods. As a result, some content or its description contains outdated, offensive, harmful, or biased views and depictions. You may encounter terms or images that are hurtful to you or set off strong emotional responses. 

We welcome feedback on your experience with these materials and will use this information to better understand this issue and educate others. We invite you to use this form to report harmful content (you may remain anonymous if you wish). We will forward your report to the appropriate institution(s); institutions will determine a course of action based on local policies and professional ethics, such as the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights and the Society of American Archivists Core Values Statement and Code of Ethics

Culturally Sensitive Indigenous Materials

Some materials collected by Wisconsin libraries, archives, museums, and other organizations and made available through Recollection Wisconsin may contain traditional knowledge or may be culturally sensitive for Wisconsin Native Nations or other Indigenous communities. Please approach these materials with respect for the cultures and people they document.

We welcome input from tribal representatives to determine whether materials are culturally sensitive. If you believe that access has been provided to images, items, or information that should be restricted, please contact us at info@recollectionwisconsin.org or through our reporting form. We will forward your report to the appropriate institution(s).

About this Statement

This statement was reviewed and approved by the members of the Recollection Wisconsin Governing Board and Steering Committee.

Language in this statement is adapted from:

Recollection Wisconsin is a service hub for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). To read more about how DPLA and its partners are working to address harmful content and descriptions in digitized historical collections, see DPLA’s Statement on Potentially Harmful Content.

Adopted November 4, 2022