Brigitte SmithSpring 2016LM 520

The Digital Public Library of America is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit

organization.

It is registered as a library in the state of Massachusetts.

DPLA is a Library

A photo of the Boston Public Library, 1896. Courtesy of the Boston Public Library via Digital Commonwealth.

For most of American history, the ability to access materials for free through public libraries has been a central part of our culture, producing generations of avid readers and a knowledgeable, engaged citizenry.

DPLA is free

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DPLA offers educational

services

Part of the mission of the DPLA is to offer resources that educators can use in the classroom.

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The Digital Public Library of America uses social media to engage with

its users and partners, to promote and build community around its

collections, and to share information.

DPLA seeks

to engage.

Children checking out books at the Rockingham County Library bookmobile, 1955. Courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.

The Digital Public Library of America is different.

But DPLA is NOT an ordinary library….

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This is the Digital Public Library of America….

“ It extends what the Library does and changes it for today’s world ! ”

Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian of District of Columbia Public Library and DPLA Convener.

The Digital Public Library of America is an online portal to more than 2.5 million resources physically held at libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions located across the United States.

These resources have been digitized and can now be accessed by anyone with internet.

“Kids today use Google when they are looking for information, and if its not on Google, it doesn’t exist. Instead of fighting this, let’s make it happen. Let’s make it available online!”

David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States

DPLA contributes to several efforts to increase access to online books, including Open eBooks, an initiative aimed at putting thousands of ebooks into the hands of school children.

“We view this initiative as a

critical next step in DPLA’s

overall mission to maximize

access to our shared culture.”

Dan Cohen, Executive Director of DPLA

DPLA is searchable

Anyone can search the Digital Public Library of America from the search bar on the Home Page:

http://dp.la/

A search from the Home page takes one to a results page that looks very much like that of many other databases and online catalogs.

This is a wonderful image I found when I searched for “The Scarlet Letter”.

It is a publicity photo for a theater production starring Jean Lander in the role of Hester Prynne, with a child actress in the role of Pearl.

There is a “Subject” link in the black bar at the bottom of the page that allows you to also browse by subject headings.

Changing to the “Bookshelf” mode gives the user an experience closer to browsing the shelves of a physical library.

Visual representations

The hight and width of the book icons symbolize the actual size and number of pages in

the physical books.

The publication date is also shown on the icon.

Changing to the Map mode gives the user the ability to choose records by location.

Choose a Location

Click on an orange circle to see all records (or those that meet your search parameters) that contain the name of that state in the bibliographic information.

Searching in the Timeline mode gives the user the ability to choose records related to a specific time period.

Great idea, but….I can imagine using this mode of searching for records about a specific time period in history, including the many, many oral histories that can be found through DPLA. There is a wonderful sound recording of an interview with a woman who grew up during the Depression years .

However, it was created in 1984 and is only discoverable on the timeline in that year, not by looking at the year 1929 or the decade of the 1930s.

Click on the Exhibitions tab to explore thirty collections on subjects as diverse as “Race to the Moon” and “Quack Cures and Self-Remedies: Patent Medicine”.

You’ll find primary documents like letters and pamphlets & pictures of “ephimeral” - the kinds of things you would see behind glass at a real exhibit--from an actual space suit to a toy rocketship.

This Patrol Ship spaceship toy from 1934 was merchandise for Buck Rogers, the popular space-based adventure series. Courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

The items in these collections are physically housed at libraries and museums across the country but come together in the virtual exhibit at DPLA.

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Click on the Education tab and then select “Primary Sets” for sixty more collections assembled with teachers and students in mind.

The Primary Source Set for The Crucible

contains a map from 1692 and several

17th Century documents, as well as documents

from the Anti-American Hearings that inspired Miller to write

his novel.

Each Primary Source Set includes a

Teaching Guide

that includes Discussion questions and a variety of

activities.

Look under “Additional Tools” to find these Worksheets to help students understand primary documents.

This is an example of a worksheet students can use to help them analyze a political cartoon they might

use in a History unity. Studying Primary documents can promote Higher Order

Thinking Skills.

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