Contact:   Wendy Cornelisen

State Librarian

503-378-4367

September 23, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Salem, Ore - Northwest Digital Heritage, a collaboration between the State Library of Oregon, Oregon Heritage Commission, and Washington State Library, is proud to announce its latest update: a DPLA Local web portal. The portal provides easy access to over half a million records from over 150 institutions in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Anyone can browse the site for historic documents, photos, maps, oral histories, and more, and can narrow their search results across a variety of categories. The site also features highlights on specific topics in Northwest history and culture, from tribal fishing rights to the Mount St. Helens eruption to the Vanport Flood. 

“DPLA Local is a platform representing a unique, regional slice of the nationwide Digital Public Library of America portal,” says Evan Robb, project co-coordinator at the Washington State Library. “Researchers can discover online historical materials and government documents from a variety of sources, some of which don’t rank prominently, or display at all, in search engine results.”

The DPLA Local platform was designed and developed by the Digital Public Library of America. Content for the portal is provided by the Northwest Digital Heritage hub in partnership with the Orbis Cascade Alliance service hub, University of Washington, and Oregon Digital. Northwest institutions interested in participating in the DPLA should visit: www.northwestdigitalheritage.org. 

“We look forward to this new interface helping to make Oregon and Washington’s unique cultural heritage collections accessible to researchers, the public, and other organizations,” says Katie Henry from the Oregon Heritage Commission. 

For questions or more information, contact Ross Fuqua at ross.fuqua@slo.oregon.gov.