Digital Collections @ Your Library

Check out the ever growing collection of local history resources available online 24/7. These full-text and image resources include census records, birth, marriage & death records, immigration and military records, directories, passenger lists, maps, postcards, city directories, local histories, newspaper articles, and more.

See Also » Local History @ Your Library to find out more about resources available in libraries around the area.

Featured Resources

Ancestry Library Edition

In Library Use Only.  Access to a vast collection of Census records, birth, marriage & death records, immigration and military records, directories, passenger lists, and more.

Historic Newspapers

A collection of local, national, and international newspaper resources including Wisconsin Newspaper Archive, a collection of over 700 Wisconsin newspapers covering the years 1813 - 2017.

Recollection Wisconsin

The Recollection Wisconsin program brings together more than 200,000 historical resources from across the state and provides new opportunities to discover and share community history. A dozen InfoSoup libraries have contributed to this collection.

HeritageQuest

A large collection of genealogical and historical sources including unique primary sources, local, and family histories, U.S. Federal Censuses, books, cemetery records, city directories, military records and more.

Local & State Digital Collections

Recollection Wisconsin

The following InfoSoup Libraries have collections that can be searched on Recollection Wisconsin and DPLA. You can also visit their collections directly from the following links:

Appleton Public Library Local History

95 volumes, including plat maps, city directories, local histories, building surveys and more. Part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

Appleton History

A wide range of resources created and maintained by the Appleton Public Library.

Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Oconto and Shawano Counties: Historical Atlases, Directories, Plat Maps & High School Yearbooks

Plat books and atlases for four northeastern Wisconsin counties.

Kaukauna Public Library

A collection of online resources on the history of Kaukauna.

Marinette County Local History

Plat books and Yearbooks from the Marinette County Library System

Shawano City-County Library Collection

Local newspaper articles and pictures about the 1975 Novitiate Takeover by the Menominee Warrior Society, a 34 day siege that drew national attention.

Fox Valley Memory Photos

Over 1400 images from collections at the Appleton Public Library and the Outagamie County Historical Society.

Local History Texts

These local history texts are available online and are fully searchable.

History of Outagamie County (1911)

Often referred to as Ryan's History, this is a major resource for Outagamie County history.

Pioneers of Outagamie County (1895)

Biographical sketches and photos of many residents of settlements in Outagamie County in 1895.

Land of the Fox, Saga of Outagamie County (1949)

Published in conjunction with the Outagamie County Centennial observance.

Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago (1895)

Biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, and of many of the early settled families.

Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910

Over 130 books of regional history from the Library of Congress.

More Statewide Resources

Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS)

The Wisconsin Historical Society maintains an ever-growing collection of online resources. Their research portal lists the numerous databases, collections and online tools.

WHS Family History Records

Family history research records from the Wisconsin Historical Society records available on Ancestry. Includes Birth, Death, and Marriage Indexes, State Censuses, and Wills and Probate Records. Create a free Ancestry account to access.

Wisconsin Historical Images

Search or browse a fraction of the 3 million images in the Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

U.W. Digital Collections

Providing "leadership in the creation of quality digital resources from libraries and archives." For local history materials see the State of Wisconsin Collection.

Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers

Full-text daily and weekly Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 90 days ago, plus newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. View Title List. Powered by Wisconsin Newspaper Association

National Collections

Digital Public Library of America

DPLA brings together digital collections from america’s libraries, archives, and museums.

Library of Congress

Vast collection of written and spoken words, photos, sound recordings, film, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.

Newspapers.com - World Collection

Historical newspapers from the 1700s - 2000s. Newspapers.com contains thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries. Made available via BadgerLink. Library card may be required from outside a library.

Family Search

This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) site has a vast search engine covering all aspects of family history.

Web Sites

A very small selection of the many thousands of web sites available to those interested in local history and genealogy.

Wisconsin GenWeb

Part of the USGenWeb project of volunteers working together to provide free websites for genealogical research in every county. To view counties in other states, go to the USGenWeb Project homepage.

Fox Valley Memory

The project’s mission is to increase local history resources and awareness through collaboration, communication and web publishing. Includes photos, local and regional histories, and links to other web sites.

Cyndi's List

One of the oldest, largest, and most popular starting points for online genealogy. The site categorizes and annotates the full spectrum of genealogy material available on the web. Includes sections for Wisconsin and individual Wisconsin Localities.

Ellis Island

Free search of Ellis Island/Port of New York passenger lists records.

Family Search

This Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) site has a vast search engine covering all aspects of family history.

The National Archives

Information on doing research at the National Archives, using their microfilm rental program, and access to a growing collection of online resources.

RootsWeb

The oldest and largest free genealogy site.

Subscription Databases

These premier genealogy databases are available to all InfoSoup library patrons.

Ancestry Library Edition

In library use only. If you don't have a personal subscription to Ancestry.com, stop by the library to search this vast vast collection of Census records, birth, marriage & death records, immigration and military records, directories, passenger lists, and more!

HeritageQuest

Includes census data, family records, local histories, military records and PERSI (the PERiodical Source Index). Library card number may be required from outside a library.

Wisconsin Newspaper Archive

A large collection of over 700 Wisconsin newspapers covering the years 1813 - 2017. Search by name or keyword or browse newspapers by location. Titles available are included in the Wisconsin State Historical Society Wisconsin newspapers available online database. Made available by InfoSoup Libraries. From outside a library, users will need to enter their InfoSoup library card number and PIN.

Plat MapsPlat Maps & Atlases

Listing by county of land ownership maps from InfoSoup libraries that are available online via the U.W. Digital archives.

Brown County

Door County

Kewaunee County

Marinette County

Outagamie County

Shawano County

Atlases and plat books are available online from other counties in Wisconsin. You can browse Infosoup or search the U.W. Digital Collections.

Plat maps both old and new are also available in InfoSoup libraries. Search Real property - Wisconsin - and browse by county or do a keyword search for County/City name and Maps.

High School Yearbooks

A selection of High School Yearbooks from Algoma, Green Bay, Kewanee, Oconto, Oconto Falls, and Sturgeon Bay. Dates range from 1910 to 1926. Titles include:

  • The Okato (1922 - 1926)
  • The Bay Mist (1910, 1912, 1922)
  • The Aeroplane: commencement (1912)
  • The Aeroplane (1914 - 1921)
  • East High Aeroplane (1924 -1925)
  • The Flashes (1912 - 1925)
  • The Thistle (1908, 1913)
  • Gleanings of '22 (1922, 1924)
  • The Crescent Beach Echoes (1909-1911, 1913, 1917, 1923)
  • The Bugler (1918, 1922)
  • Scroll of the Wolves (1929)
  • Lake Whispers (1915-1916, 1921-1925)

Marinette County High School Yearbooks. Titles includes:

  • Annual of Marinette High School (June, 1919)
  • Marinette High School "Annual" (1920)
  • Annual Marinette High School (1921)
  • Record MHS 1919 (1919)
  • Memories (1924)
  • The Etteniram: the annual year-book of Marinette High School (1922)
  • The M: the annual year book of Marinette High School (1923)

Scandinavia, Wisconsin Year Books