These are some online archives that can help you find digitized materials for researching Idaho topics. They have been organized into the following categories:
- Guides
- Audiobook Services
- University Archives Digital Collections
- Organizations and Digital Libraries
- Local Governments
- Public Libraries
- State Government
- Federal Government
- Historical Societies and Museums
- Health and Medicine
Remember to check copyright before using materials from digital collections.
Guides
- Archives West – Guides to collections including collections from Boise State University and the University of Idaho. From the site: “Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.“
- Digital Library of Idaho (DLoI) – Use the digital library to find photographs, documents, newspapers, scrapbooks, maps, postcards, and sound recordings archived by libraries around Idaho. The DLoI was created by the Network of Idaho Academic Libraries (NIAL).
- Northwest Archivists Directory of Archival and Manuscript Repositories in the Northwest
- Also see our guides to Idaho Collections and Government Documents.
- Western Association of Map Libraries – collections
Audiobook Services
- BARD: Braille and Audio Reading Download, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
- Idaho Talking Book Service, Idaho Commission for Libraries
- Idaho Talking Book Service Catalog – Use this site to search for books available from the Idaho Talking Book Service.
University Archives Digital Collections
- Archives West – Guides to collections including collections from Boise State University and the University of Idaho. From the site: “Archives West provides access to descriptions of primary sources in the western United States, including correspondence, diaries or photographs. Digital reproductions of the materials are available in some cases.“
- Boise State University Digital Collections
- BYU-Idaho Manuscript Collections
- David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford University
- Digital Atlas of Idaho
- Idaho State University Digital Archives
- J. Willard Marriott Digital Library, University of Utah
- North Idaho College Molstead Library Digital Collections
- University of Idaho Library Digital Collections
- Washington State Archives Digital Archives
- Washington State University Libraries Digital Collections
- Yale Collection of Western Americana
Organizations and Digital Libraries
- American Journeys – This site was created by a number of universities and historical societies. It is a digital archive of first person accounts of exploration. You can use the archives to find mentions of specific things in the texts. It includes the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Digital Library of Idaho (DLoI) – Photographs, documents, newspapers, scrapbooks, maps, postcards, and sound recordings archived by libraries around Idaho. The DLoI was created by the Network of Idaho Academic Libraries (NIAL).
- Digital Public Library of America – The Digital Public Library provides access to millions of items online from a variety of cultural institutions. Primary source sets are available for a variety of topics.
- Google Books
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
- Internet Archive
- Mountain West Digital Library – The MWDL provides access to digital collections from many universities, libraries, museums, and other organizations.
- Project Gutenberg – Project Gutenberg is an organization that makes books available in digital format. Thousands of classic titles are available.
- Smithsonian Digital Library
- World Digital Public Library – From the site: “The World Digital Library (WDL) is a project of the U.S. Library of Congress, carried out with the support of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), and in cooperation with libraries, archives, museums, educational institutions, and international organizations from around the world.”
Local Governments
- The Boise City Department of Arts & History provides support for arts and history in Boise. Their web site includes online collections.
- Hailey Public Library Mallory Collection
- LiLi (Libraries Linking Idaho) – LiLi is a service of the Idaho Commission for Libraries. A variety of online resources are available to residents of Idaho through LiLi.org.
Public Libraries
State Government
- Idaho Legislature Digital Media Archive
- Idaho Public Television Idaho in Session Archive – Live streaming and archived video are available from this service of Idaho Public Television.
- Idaho State Historical Society Digital Collections
- LiLi (Libraries Linking Idaho) – LiLi is a service of the Idaho Commission for Libraries. A variety of online resources are available to residents of Idaho through LiLi.org.
- Idaho Transportation Photo Collection
- [stacks] Idaho’s Digital Repository – The Idaho Digital Repository was created by Idaho statute 33-2505. It provides the citizens of Idaho with access to government publications. It includes publications from state agencies (“stacks”), A.J. Winters Elementary, Bannock County Images, Boise Public Library Ethnic History Archive, Hyde Park Neighborhood – Boise, Early Lewiston Images, Franklin County Images, Fred Nordgaard Barbershop Quartet Scrapbooks, Jerome Public Library, Montpelier Idaho Time Capsule 1972.
Federal Government
- Homeland Security Digital Library
- INL (Idaho National Laboratory) Research Library Digital Repository
- Library of Congress – The Library of Congress serves the U.S. Congress and is home to the U.S. Copyright Office. The library provides online collections, resources for teachers, and opportunities for the public to contribute through crowdsourcing.
- MetaLib – MetaLib is a federated search engine for information in U.S. government databases. Search for government resources in these categories: Government Publishing Office Resources, Agriculture, Business and Economy, Catalogs, Defense and Military, Education, Environment, Freedom of Information Act, Health and Safety, History, Politics and Law, and Recreation, Travel and Transportation.
- National Archives – The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is a great source of primary source documents. NARA records come from all 3 branches of the federal government. Presidential Libraries and Museums are part of the NARA system. Permanent records of Federal agencies and courts for Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are housed in Seattle.
- National Park Service Multimedia Search
- Office of Federal Land Records General Land Office Collections
- Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL), Center for Research Libraries
- US Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Library
Find more under Government Documents.
Historical Societies and Museums
- Autry Museum Collections Online – This is a digital collection of materials from the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.
- Basque Museum and Cultural Center
- GenWeb Idaho Archives – GenWeb is a site where genealogists and volunteers upload transcripts and other materials to make them available to people doing genealogy research. Examples of materials are family histories, photographs, and transcripts of Census records.
- Oregon History Wayfinder, Oregon Historical Society
- Owyhee County Historical Society – Browse a selection of historical photos on the OCHS web page.
Health and Medicine
This page was updated by Ronnie Joiner on October 14, 2021.