Last week the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched. This new platform brings together the cultural collections from museums, libraries, and archives and makes them available for users to search from one convenient location. Through DPLA, you have access to millions of items--photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and more. You can search and browse by timeline, map, collection, or topic and then use and share what you find.
From their website:
[DPLA] strives to contain the full breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art and culture, to records of America’s heritage, to the efforts and data of science. The DPLA aims to expand this crucial realm of openly available materials, and make those riches more easily discovered and more widely usable and used.
At RU Library we’re excited about exploring this new resource, and we hope you will be too. Below are some examples of what you can find in DPLA:
Activism in the U.S.
DPLA features a number of exhibits that highlight the many resources searchable through their platform. The Activism in the U.S. exhibit has pictures and descriptions of activism on topics ranging from civils rights to LGBT activism.
From the dp.la Education Activism Collection
Maps
Among other collections, DPLA searches the David Rumsey map collection.
From the David Rumsey collection: Official railroad map of Illinois. 1876.
Smithsonian Collections
DPLA has access to the phenomenal digital archives of the Smithsonian Insitute. When you browse the timeline, you can find items dating back to the 14th century.
Folio from a Mu'nis al-Abrar fi Deqa'iq al-Ash'ar (Free Man's Guide to the Subtleties of Poetry) by Badr al-Din Jajarmi (d. 1287);
And Much More!
What can you find in DPLA?
