Sue Shaffer Learning Commons and Library: Guides: U.S. History: Digital Public Library of America

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) amplifies the value of libraries and cultural organizations as Americans’ most trusted sources of shared knowledge. We do this by collaborating with partners to accelerate innovative tools and ideas that empower and equip libraries to make information more accessible.

We work with a national network of partners to:

Make millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience.
Provide a library-controlled marketplace and platform for libraries to purchase, organize, and deliver ebooks and other e-content to their patrons.
Convene library leaders and practitioners to explore and advance technologies that serve, inform, and empower their communities.

About the Digital Public Library of America

The DPLA can be used by anyone for any number of reasons.

Educators and students seeking to understand history sift through primary source materials for research and other uses within academia.
Scholarly researchers use the DPLA to search through archives across the nation without having to travel.
Genealogists, both professional and those just starting out, use it as a starting point for familial history projects.
Lifelong learners use it for the opportunity to visit and view exhibits that pique their interests such as those (and more!) linked below.

DPLA: Exhibitions
Stories of national significance drawn from source materials in libraries, archives, and museums across the United States.

This is just a small sampling of the numerous collections housed at the DPLA website.

Activism in the US
The United States has a long history of activists seeking social, political, economic, and other changes to America—along with a history of other activists trying to prevent such changes. American activism covered a wide range of causes and utilized many different forms of activism.
A History of US Public Libraries
This exhibition tells the story of the American public library system, its community impact, and the librarians who made it possible—from the founding of the first US libraries through the first one hundred years of service.
Prisoners at Home: Everyday Life in Japanese Internment Camps
This exhibition tells stories of everyday lives in Japanese Internment camps during World War II.
Quack Cures and Self-Remedies: Patent Medicine
The story of patent medicine is multi-layered. It is about the phenomenon of Americans self-medicating with opiates, alcohol, and herbal supplements, as well as women’s health and healthcare options. It follows the evolution of advertising in America and the rise of chromolithography printing techniques and newspaper advertisements.
This Land Is Your Land: Parks and Public Spaces
Constructing and defining the National Park Service as the revered organization that it is today was no easy task. While some individuals have used their talents to create and preserve the physical landscape—physically building the parks and developing policies and laws—others have used their literary and artistic skills to showcase their beauty and history.
Urban Parks in the United States
Urban parks have continually adapted to meet the needs of the publics they serve, evolving, for example, from places to simply enjoy nature into recreation sites that offer activities and equipment. More than just sites for leisure, they also play a broader role in supporting community engagement by providing places for civic participation, enhancing quality of life and property values, and offering safe, healthy, and convenient recreation options.