BRINGING MISSISSIPPI TO RESEARCHERS AROUND THE WORLD.
The Mississippi Digital Library is the collaborative digital library for the state of Mississippi. Our mission is to provide an online space to search and explore Mississippi’s rich abundance of cultural and historical resources held by institutions and repositories all across the state. Emphasizing collection building and discoverability, our goal is to help our partners build sustainable, high-quality digital collections and deliver those materials to the researchers. We are committed to providing free open access to these digital collections.
Made up of over 50 institutions, our partners include archives, historical societies, museums, public libraries, academic libraries and more. Partnership and searching the collections are always free!
See what Mississippi has to offer. Search the collections.
SERVICES
More than just collections.
The Mississippi Digital Library is dedicated to helping institutions digitize materials and provide access to the wealth of resources our partners have to offer. More than just materials, MDL is a network, connecting institutions with one another.
Bay St. Louis, Ordination of the first class of the Society of the Divine Word; 1934
Bishop R. O. Gerow Collection ~Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson
Hosting
Content platform services
Maintaining content management systems can be time consuming and expensive. We offer free hosting for 24/7 public access to your digital collections.
A woman standing in Humphreys County Library
Mississippi Library Photos Collection ~Mississippi Library Commission
Training
Personalized digitization Training
Whole project emphasis. From concept to creation, and everything in-between, learn how to independently preserve history for the future.
I. I. & C. Florodora Club of 1902
Mississippi University for Women Photograph Collection ~Mississippi University for Women Archives
Digitization
Digitization Assistance
We provide digitization assistance through programs such as the Cultural Heritage Digitization Award and grant-funded projects. While we are currently unable to visit institutions due to travel restrictions, we are able to visit virtually and conduct trainings via zoom. If you or an institution you know could benefit from digitization assistance, please contact us.
First Graduating Class
Utica Normal and Industrial Institute Collection ~Hinds Community College
WHERE WE ARE
We are Mississippi.
Our partners represent the diverse and rich history of the state. These institutions own and maintain the original materials featured on our site. Due to the volume of collections, institutions often have more than what can be shown online.
Want to see more? Have an item to donate? Find and connect with a partner near you.
For a noninteractive list of our partners, download here.
WHO WE ARE
MDL Team
The Mississippi Digital Library is governed by a director and an advisory board. Board members are from institutions across the state.
Elizabeth La Beaud: Director
Elizabeth La Beaud became Director of the Mississippi Digital Library in 2022 and previously served as Assistant Director from 2018-2022. She is a Library of Congress-trained Digital Preservation trainer and holds an MLIS, ASC, and DAS. With over a decade of experience in digital libraries and archives, Elizabeth is passionate about preserving history and making it accessible to everyone.
Hannah Dean
: MDL Coordinator
Hannah Dean became MDL Coordinator in 2023 and was previously in the Office of Admissions at the University of Southern Mississippi. She holds a BA in History as well as an MLIS Degree. She is passionate about the preservation of historical items as well as making them accessible to the public.
Current Advisory Board
Emily Irwin Jones - Mississippi College
David Pilcher - Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Preston Everett - Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Greg Johnson - University of Mississippi
Past Directors
Diane Ross - served 2003-2011
Diane transformed a civil rights project into a 5-member digital program consortium in 2003 and officially earned the status of inaugural MDL Director, growing the digital library to 15 partners.
Lisa Jones - served 2011-2022
Lisa expanded MDL to 50+ cultural heritage institutions, including museums, historical and genealogical societies, libraries, archives, and research centers. Lisa retired as the longest-reigning director.
Past Board MEMBERS
Stephen Cunetto
Jennifer Ford
Jenifer Ishee
Susan Ivey
Lisa Jones
Elizabeth La Beaud
Randall McMillen
Kathryn Michaelis
Orthella Moman
Diane Ross