Researching U.P. history just became a whole lot easier.
Many digital collections documenting the history of the Upper Peninsula are now accessible and searchable on the Upper Peninsula Digital Network (UPLINK) website! Collections that are already online or that will be online in the next few weeks include newspapers such as the Marquette Mining Journal and the Grand Marais Gazette, business records such as the Copper Range Company collection, lighthouse records from Ontonagon, and oral history collections such as the Italian American Oral History collection and the Marquette Women’s Center oral history collection. In the coming months, many of these collections will also become available on the Library of Michigan’s Michigan Memories site and DPLA (Digital Public Library of America).
UPLINK began in 2021 with a two-year implementation grant from the NHPRC (National Historical Publications and Records Commission). It is a consortium of heritage organizations (archives, libraries, museums, and historical societies) intended to pool resources and skills to make digitization and digital preservation affordable for small organizations. Any heritage organization in the Upper Peninsula can join. There is a small annual membership fee that covers digital preservation and upkeep costs. Organizations can digitize their own collections to add to the network, or UPLINK staff can digitize and describe collections for member heritage organizations for a small fee. If you have any questions about UPLINK, please contact us at uplink@nmu.edu!
