State digital library is available to public

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan launched the Missouri Digital Heritage website recently.

The Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative makes millions of historical documents available to the public and connects users to dozens of Missouri’s local libraries, universities and cultural institutions through one searchable destination. Carnahan proposed this landmark initiative in 2007 to further Missourians’ access to information about the history of people and places in the state.

The initiative passed through the state legislature last April, and the development of the website has been underway for the past year.

Missourians can log onto the website at www.MissouriDigitalHeritage.com.

“Missouri has a rich and varied history, and this website provides every Missourian unprecedented access to the stories, snapshots and records of our state and its people,” Carnahan said. “I am excited that Missourians and the wider online community can piece together their past through a single website.”

The Secretary of State’s office houses both the state archives and state library and much of the content is hosted directly from these collections.

The Missouri state archives is the official repository for state documents of permanent historic value and is the definitive source of information on Missouri state and governmental history.

The state library provides hundreds of grants per year through LSTA (Library Services & Technology Act) funds distributed by the federal Institute of Museum & Library Services.

Many collections included in the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative are made possible through this grant program.

Those wanting to learn more about the making of the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative can go online to view a video about the project at: http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/MakingOf/.