Guide
Introduction
The Local History Archive is Jackson District Library’s digital collection of local history materials. It includes photographs, documents, maps, postcards, publications, artifacts, and other historical materials connected to Jackson County and the surrounding area.
Use this guide to learn how to browse the archive, search for specific materials, understand object records, send questions or feedback, and save items using Lightboxes.
Browsing
Browsing by objects or entities is a good place to start when you do not have a specific item in mind.
The Browse section lets you explore different types of historical records, including objects, people, organizations, places, and collections. Objects are the individual items in the archive, such as photographs, maps, programs, postcards, letters, books, and artifacts.
Browsing can help you discover materials by topic, format, origin, or relationship to other records.
Searching
Search is the best option when you are looking for a specific name, place, topic, event, organization, or keyword.
A keyword search looks beyond item titles. It may also find words that appear in digitized documents, publications, newspapers, and other scanned materials. This means a search term may appear inside an item even if it is not part of the item's title.
Use the Search page for additional search options and tips.
Object Records
An object record is a page that describes an individual item in the collection.
Most object records include a viewer for the digital item, along with information about the item itself. This descriptive information is called metadata. Metadata may include details such as:
- Title
- Date
- Creator
- Description
- Collection
- Subject
- Place
- Related people or organizations
- Rights or access information
Object records may also link to related collections, places, subjects, people, and organizations. These links can help you move between connected materials and discover more about a topic.
Collections and Features
Collections are are groups of related materials. They may be organized by source, topic, format, organization, or historical theme.
Features are are curated exhibits or themed groups of materials that highlight stories from across the archive. They may bring together items from different collections to explore a topic in more depth.
Some features may invite participation from community members like you. For example, a feature with unidentified people or places may ask visitors to share information they recognize.
Ask Questions and Share Feedback
You can contact the library's Local History team in two ways.
For general questions about the Local History Archive, use the Ask a Question option.
For questions or information about a specific item, use the Inquire or Give Feedback option on any record page. Feedback submitted from an object record is connected directly to that item, which helps staff understand exactly which photograph, document, or object you are asking about.
This is especially helpful if you can identify a person, place, event, date, building, or other detail in a historical item.
Creating an Account and Using Lightboxes (bookmarks)
You can explore the Local History Archive without creating an account. Creating an account gives you access to additional features, including Lightboxes.
A Lightbox is a saved group of items, similar to a bookmark folder. You can create different Lightboxes for different topics, projects, family research, school assignments, or areas of interest.
After creating an account, you can save items to a Lightbox while browsing the archive and return to them later.
Account registrations are reviewed before access is activated.