Calling for all Wisconsin libraries, museums and local history organizations to participate in the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative! Hoping to digitize but need support scanning and creating metadata? We’re here to help! Recollection Wisconsin seeks new content partners/host sites to digitize local history collections starting in spring 2026. Trained graduate students will complete the work and will receive… Read More…
Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative
Find us at WLA!
Interested in learning more about the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative? We’ll be at the 2025 WLA Annual Conference in Middleton, Wisconsin, October 28-31. This year’s theme, “Be the Change,” celebrates innovation and collaboration in libraries. That’s our program in a nutshell! Our program pairs graduate students with libraries, museums and local history organizations to digitize… Read More…
Developing and Managing Archives and Digital Library Internships
Thanks to the Sunshine State Digital Network and Keila Zayas-Ruiz for including our program in their recent webinar, Developing and Managing Archives and Digital Library Internships! Program coordinator, Vicki Tobias, shared her experience developing and coordinating graduate student internships for the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative alongside representatives from Florida State University Libraries, Florida International University… Read More…
Outreach and Engagement: The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative
The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative was featured in the July issue of the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) newsletter (Volume 53, Number 1). Thanks, MAC! Read all about it here: For more information about the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative and our upcoming cohort, visit our website or contact vicki [at] wils.org…. Read More…
Using Local History to Educate and Build Community
by Kayla Hernandez, graduate student at the School of Information Studies at UW-Milwaukee This summer, I have been working at America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) to digitize several collections. The collection that I spent the most time working on is their brand new Beckum-Stapleton Little League collection. ABHM is working alongside a provider to house… Read More…
The Guido Brink Collection at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD)
by Cecelia Loeschmann, UW-Milwaukee SOIS This summer, as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative, I had the honor of working with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) to begin digitizing and describing the Guido Brink collection. Guido Brink holds a special place in MIAD’s history as one of the founding members and the… Read More…
Promoting Community Connections in Racine
by McKenzie Weaver, graduate student UW-Milwaukee SOIS Over the summer, I’ve been working with the Racine Public Library’s local history librarian, Rebecca Leannah, to digitize their yearbook collection. Yearbooks from the local high schools, Racine High School, Washington Park High School, and William Horlick High School, are some of the most requested items from the… Read More…
The Frank O. King Collection: A Comical Commentary on Historical Events
By Elisabeth Joy Primrose (UW Milwaukee SOIS) for Recollection Wisconsin This summer, Recollection Wisconsin partnered with the Tomah Area Historical Society and Museum (TAHSM) to digitize and provide online public access to materials from the Frank O. King Collection. Frank O. King (1883-1969) was an award-winning American cartoonist best known for creating the comic strip… Read More…
Meet Team Tomah Historical Museum!
The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative summer cohort started their project work in June 2025. This summer, we’re working with four new organziations and graduate students to digitize some very unique Wisconsin local history collections. We’re excited to work with the Tomah Area Historical Society and Museum to digitize and provide online public access to materials from the Frank… Read More…
Meet Team Racine Public Library!
The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative summer cohort started their project work last month. This summer, we’re working with four new organziations and graduate students to digitize some very unique Wisconsin local history collections. We’re excited to work with Racine Public Library to digitize and provide online public access to materials from their Racine local history collection, specifically… Read More…
Meet Team MIAD!
The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative summer cohort started their project work this month. This summer, we’re working with four new organziations and graduate students to digitize some very unique Wisconsin local history collections. We’re excited to work with the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) to digitize and provide access to materials from the… Read More…
Meet Team ABHM!
The Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative summer cohort started their project work this month. This summer, we’re working with four new organziations and graduate students to digitize some very unique Wisconsin local history collections. We’re excited to work with America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) in Milwaukee! Their project includes digitizing materials that document Milwaukee’s Beckum-Stapleton Little League,… Read More…
Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative on the Road: Sharing Stories and Strategies
Spring was a busy and exciting season for the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative, as program participants showcased their work at two regional conferences. Their presentations emphasized both the technical and collaborative nature of digitization, while also highlighting the importance of community partnerships and cultural stewardship in preserving and providing access to Wisconsin’s rich history. Kierstin… Read More…
Digitizing Local History with the Middleton Area Historical Society
by Russell Knapp, UW-Madison iSchool (2025) This past semester, I had the pleasure of working with Middleton Area Historical Society (MAHS) as a part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative. My project included digitizing items held by MAHS that related to the history of the transportation and hospitality industries in the town of Middleton. This… Read More…
Locating the “Local” in Our History at Menomonee Falls Public Library
by Elizabeth Feucht, UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies This spring semester, I’ve had the privilege of working with the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative and Menomonee Falls Public Library to digitize an array of objects from the Maude Shunk Local History Room Archives. These included ledgers, reports, a scrapbook, and other ephemera produced by the (erstwhile)… Read More…
Meet our Summer 2025 Cohort
We are excited to announce our next Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative cohort starting in late May 2025. This initiative brings together Wisconsin content partners and information school graduate students to create new digital collections. Content partners will choose collections to digitize, and student staff will handle the digitization and metadata work as part of a paid practicum… Read More…
Digitizing the Brooks Stevens Collection
by Rebecca Silber, UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies As part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative, I was delighted to be paired up with the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) this spring, as a student participant. I hold a BFA and have a background in design, and so spending the semester focusing on digitizing, creating descriptive… Read More…
Meet Team Menomonee Falls Library
We’re excited to work with Team Menomonee Falls Library as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative! Founded in 1906, the Menomonee Falls Public Library encourages lifelong learning by providing materials, services, and programs to enrich our community’s educational, informational, and recreational needs. It also seeks to stimulate children’s appreciation for reading and interest in learning…. Read More…
Meet Team Middleton Area Historical Society
We are thrilled to be working with the Middleton Area Historical Society (MAHS) as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative! The Middleton Area Historical Society was established in 1972 with a mission to preserve and publicize the history of the Middleton, Wisconsin area. It is two museums – the Rowley House Museum and the… Read More…
Meet Team Washington Island Museums
We are thrilled to be working with the Washington Island museums this spring as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative! Their project includes photographing and digitizing materials held by the Jacobsens Museum, part of the Town of Washington Museums group. This includes boat models (schooners) built by Jens Jacobsen (1867-1952) in the late 1800s,… Read More…
Meet Team Milwaukee Art Museum
We are thrilled to be working with the Milwaukee Art Museum this spring as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative! Their project focuses on digitizing, creating descriptive information for and providing public access to materials from the Brooks Stevens Archive, one of several special Museum Collection archives acquired from the Stevens family in 1997…. Read More…
Spring Cohort Begins Digitization Work
Our Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative spring cohort commenced last week with a 3-hour virtual training event. Participants learned more about Recollection Wisconsin, the Digital Public Library of America and WiLS. Recollection Wisconsin staff presented key digitization best practices and shared knowledge, tools and resources to support students’ scanning, metadata creation, folder- and file-naming and organization schemes, digital preservation, and creating project… Read More…
Four Historic Wisconsin Businesses
by Jacqueline Steel, UW-Madison iSchool In fall 2024, I worked collaboratively with the Eagle River Historical Society and the Nicolet Federated Library System staff to digitize and describe a collection of materials that document historical resorts and supper clubs primarily in northern Wisconsin. Working with ERHS director Vito Bortolotti and NFLS director Tracy Vreeke, I… Read More…
Digital Curation With the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language Division (Ho-Chunk Nation)
by Kierstin Wagner, UW-Milwaukee SOIS This semester, I have had the pleasure of working with the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci Language Division (Ho-Chunk Nation) to organize, preserve, and provide access to decades of invaluable language-learning materials. My work with the language collections spanned three phases. The first phase involved inventorying and organizing the materials. Since 2017,… Read More…
Digitizing a Community Newspaper: Tips, Tricks, and How to Make Meaning Out of Metadata
by Julia Lalor, UW-Madison iSchool (’24) When I first set out to digitize copies of the community newspaper the Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter, I was somewhat skeptical of the impact that this project would have. I took the Edgerton Public Library at its word that digital copies of this newspaper would benefit researchers, but from the… Read More…
Meet Our Spring 2025 Cohort!
We are excited to announce our next Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative cohort starting in January 2025. This initiative brings together Wisconsin content partners and information school graduate students to create new digital collections. Content partners will choose collections to digitize, and student staff will handle the digitization and metadata work as part of a paid… Read More…
Meet Team Eagle River Historical Society!
We are thrilled to be working with the Eagle River Historical Society and the Nicolet Federated Library System as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative. This project focuses on digitizing and sharing materials that document historic resorts and supper clubs in the Eagle River, Wisconsin area including post cards, brochures, menus and matchbooks. This… Read More…
Meet Team Hoocąk Waaziija Haci (Ho-Chunk) Language Division!
We are thrilled to be working with the Hoocąk Waaziija Haci (Ho-Chunk) Language Division in Tomah, Wisconsin as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative. Their project includes organizing, digitizing, creating descriptive information and preserving their language learning materials, and hosting some materials in Mukurtu, (MOOK-oo-too), a grassroots project aiming to empower Indigenous communities to… Read More…
Meet Team Edgerton Public Library
We’re thrilled to be working with the Edgerton Public Library as part of the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative. Their project involves digitizing some of the oldest print issues of the Edgerton Reporter and Edgerton Tobacco Reporter dating back to 1885. In addition to scanning and creating metadata for these issues, the project team will work… Read More…
Digitization Initiative Begins!
On September 4th, we kicked off the Recollection Wisconsin Digitization Initiative with a 3-hour virtual training session with students, host site supervisors and WiLS and Recollection Wisconsin staff. Over the course of the afternoon, participants learned more about Recollection Wisconsin, the Digital Public Library of America and WiLS. Recollection Wisconsin staff presented key digitization best… Read More…
