Digital Public Library of America

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International gif-making competition GIF IT UP returns for the month of October. 

Join the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and partners Europeana, Trove (Australia), and DigitalNZ (New Zealand) to create original gif artwork, be inspired by creative reuse of cultural heritage materials, and celebrate one of the internet’s most beloved art forms.

Gif-makers and gif-lovers of all skill levels are invited to participate by creating original gifs using copyright-free digital video, images, or text from any of the participating digital library collections. Even if you’re not a gif-creator, keep an eye out for new entries on our GIPHY channel and #GIFITUP2018 and share your favorites to help spread the love for cultural heritage gifs.

Find all the rules, tools, and information you need for GIF IT UP 2018 below and on the contest website at gifitup.net.

Find this 2017 GIF IT UP entry on GIPHY. 

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Labor History for Labor Day

This Labor Day, dig into labor history through DPLA Exhibitions on topics including labor on the World War I home front, the Bread & Roses Strike of 1912, MA's shoe-making industry, and the work of Montana's early settlers! 

View DPLA Exhibitions 

Selected images include:

A 1920 photograph of a shoe shop in Haverill, MA, from Lawrence History Center via Digital Commonwealth and featured in Best Foot Forward: The Shoe Industry in Massachusetts.

“Proclamation! Is Massachusetts in America?,” a 1912 poster from the Lawrence History Center via Digital Commonwealth and featured in Bread and Roses Strike of 1912: Two Months in Lawrence, Massachusetts, that Changed Labor History.  

A postcard featuring a grain threshing machine near Hobson, Montana, from Hobson Library via Big Sky Country Digital Network and featured in Boom or Bust: The Industries that Settled Montana. 

“For Every Fighter A Woman Worker. Care for her through the YWCA,” ca. 1917, from North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and featured in Patriotic Labor: America during World War I.

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#FridayFeeling: Don’t you just want to make a beach pyramid?

Here’s to Summer Fridays and the art of the sometimes graceful, occasionally dangerous, always fun human pyramid on a beach! View dozens more in DPLA.

These selections come from Springfield College Archives and Special Collections via Digital Commonwealth; Free Library of Philadelphia via PA Digital; and Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library.

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Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla!

Ever wonder who those snazzy Tesla cars are named for? Meet inventor, engineer, and electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla, who was born on this day in 1856. View photos, inventions, and writings in DPLA.

Plus, find more resources on Tesla, Thomas Edison, and "Electrifying America" in this Primary Source Set.

Featured images include:

Nikola Tesla, from New-York Historical Society via Empire State Digital Network

The title page for one of Tesla's published lectures, from University of Wisconsin via HathiTrust

An alternating current electric motor based on Nikola Tesla's design, from the National Museum of American History via Smithsonian

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#ArchivesRoadTrip! 

Half the battle of planning an #ArchivesRoadTrip is picking a destination. The other half is figuring out how to get there. Not to worry - our partner, David Rumsey Map Collection has you covered on both counts! Browse thousands of highway and road maps in DPLA.

You might want to double check your route on your phones though -- all of these featured maps are 60+ years old! 

Featured images include Travel Colorado Highways, California’s Mission Trails, Auto road map of Central United States, and Pictorial Map of the United States with trip planning guide.

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Resurrection City and the Poor People’s Campaign

50 years ago, over 3,000 people camped on the National Mall in Resurrection City as part of the Poor People's Campaign against poverty in America. View materials in DPLA documenting the camp, its residents, and their activism. 

Find out how you can support and participate in the new Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org.

Selected images:

Resurrection City with view of the Washington Monument, from DC Public Library via District Digital Bird's eye view of Resurrection City, from UNC-Chapel Hill Library via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.

Resurrection City structures, from DC Public Library via District Digital

Resurrection City residents, from University of Michigan Library via Michigan Service Hub

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What will you be wearing for the Royal Wedding?

Are you putting the finishing touches on your Royal Wedding ensemble just in case your invitation got lost in the mail and arrives today? Well, we are and we're taking inspiration from some historical hats in DPLA! 

This feather-adorned hat was designed by Mae Reeves of Mae's Millinery Shop, a Philadelphia institution and groundbreaking black woman-owned business for over fifty years, from the National Museum of African American History and Culture via Smithsonian. 

Choice #2 is a pillbox hat ca. 1965 with sasheen ribbon and flowers, from Minnesota Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library. 

Last but not least, stand out in the crowd with this bumble bee hat designed by Chicago milliners Bes-Ben ca. 1950, from Chicago History Museum via Illinois Digital Heritage Hub.

Still looking for the perfect headwear? View more hats in DPLA!

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Welcome, District Digital!

We are pleased to announce that the collections of our newest service hub, District Digital, are now discoverable in DPLA! Led by partners DC Public Library and Washington Research Library Consortium, District Digital brings over 50,000 new materials representing Washington, D.C.’s unique history as a center for education, social and political activism, and culture to DPLA.

View highlighted collections in today's announcement!

This photograph shows revelers celebrating the US bicentennial on the National Mall in 1976, from the Darrell Crain Jr. photograph collection at DC Public Library via District Digital.

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We may have gotten carried away with our baby animal research...

Just kidding--you clearly cannot have too many baby animals on a Friday afternoon! 

We're once again teaming up with @usnatarchives​ & co. for the #ArchivesHashtagParty and today's theme is #ArchivesAnimals. Follow on Twitter and Instagram for even more animal adorableness. 

These selections come from South Wood County Historical Museum via Recollection Wisconsin; Griffin Museum of Photography via Digital Commonwealth; Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library; US National Archives; USC Libraries; UMass Amherst Library via Digital Commonwealth; and Oklahoma Historical Society via OKHub.

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National Bike Month Resource Spotlight

In honor of National Bike Month, explore the role of the bicycle in transforming women's fashion, transportation, and societal independence at the turn of the century! 

Check out primary sources on The New Woman and many more resources in DPLA’s collections.  

These selections come from New-York Historical Society via Empire State Digital Network; Atlanta History Center via Digital Library of Georgia; Minnesota Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library; and Montana State University Library via Big Sky Country Digital Network.

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Today in History: The World’s Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition opened to the public in Chicago on May 1, 1893. Spanning 600 acres, it had 27 million visitors in 6 months! Attractions included the first Ferris Wheel, the Electricity Building, and works of art, music, culture, and innovation from around the world. View 1000s of materials in DPLA!

Selected items include:

A view of the fair from Boston Public Library via Digital Commonwealth

A bird's eye view of the grounds from Library of Congress

A photo of the first ferris wheel from Chicago History Museum via Illinois Digital Heritage Hub

A view of the Expositions’ Court of Honor illuminated at night, from Archives Center, National Museum of American History via Smithsonian

A ticket for the fair's Chicago Day, which had the highest attendance of any single day of the event, from Glendale Public Library via California Digital Library

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What’s your idea of the perfect date?

We'd have to say April 25. It's not too hot, not too cold... All you need is a light jacket. Here's a tribute to the art of the fabulous spring jacket! 

These selections are from the collections of New York Public Library, Minnesota Historical Society via Minnesota Digital Library; and Claremont Colleges and California State University Fresno via California Digital Library. 

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Celebrating Women in Science for #MuseumWeek

It's #MuseumWeek, an international celebration of cultural heritage! In honor of today's #womenMW theme, we're shouting out a few of the super smart and truly talented women featured in our "Women in Science" topic browse! 

Meet Mission Specialist Anna Lee Fisher, Botanist Ruth Colvin Starrett McGuire, Dr. Mary Walker & Physicist Nasira Wilkins!

Learn more by visiting the all-new “Women in Science” feature on our website.

These images come from the collections of the National Archives; Chicago History Museum via Illinois Digital Heritage Hub; Los Angeles Public Library via California Digital Library; and Smithsonian Archives via Smithsonian.

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Celebrate upcoming Earth Day by exploring the incredible diversity of the natural world through @biodivlibrary's collections in DPLA!

These works come from the following publications and represent collections from @smithsonianlibraries, University of Connecticut Libraries, and the Field Museum.

The Cephalopoda

Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies

Five hundred fascinating animal stories

Atlas zu der Reise im nördlichen Afrika

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The Photography of Imogen Cunningham

Photographer Imogen Cunningham, born on this day in 1883, specialized in sharp focus botanical photography and portraiture. 

Selected highlights from DPLA include:

Martha Graham portrait (1931), from the Museum of Modern Art via Empire State Digital Network

Agave Design (1932), from the Museum of Modern Art via Empire State Digital Network

Magnolia Flower (1925), from National Museum of American History  via Smithsonian

Ruth Asawa and Her Family (1957), from Minneapolis Institute of Arts via Minnesota Digital Library

Explore materials documenting Cunningham’s career and more examples of her work in DPLA or browse work by Cunningham and many other pioneering photographers in our Photography topic feature!

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Resource Spotlight: Redlining maps and Fair Housing

Residential security maps, commissioned by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, were used to identify "high risk" urban areas for mortgage lending. In practice, these maps helped codify the practice of redlining, or discriminating against African American and other non-white communities in real estate purchasing and financing. Discriminatory housing practices occurred across the country, as these redline maps for Milwaukee, WI, Durham, NC, and Providence, RI attest. The Fair Housing Act of 1968, signed 50 years ago today, made discriminatory mortgage lending illegal.

These maps come from the collections of University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Libraries via Recollection Wisconsin; US National Archives; and UNC Chapel Hill Library via North Carolina Digital Heritage Center.

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50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act

President Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act on this day in 1968, outlawing discrimination in renting, selling, and financing real estate on the basis of race, color, religion, or nationality. Explore housing activism and policy in DPLA collections.

Featured images come from the collections of University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Libraries via Recollection Wisconsin and Los Angeles Public Library and UC Berkeley Library via California Digital Library.