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.

 
 

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, St. Augustine Seminary; Nov 1, 1936 Bishop R. O. Gerow Collection ~Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson

Bay St. Louis, St. Augustine Seminary; Nov 1, 1936
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.

Native American women Marion Stark Gaines Collection ~Columbus-Lowndes Public Library

Native American women
Marion Stark Gaines Collection ~Columbus-Lowndes Public Library

Training

Personalized digitization Training

Whole project emphasis. From concept to creation, and everything in-between, learn how to independently preserve history for the future.

 
Mississippi Delta Chinese Joy Woo-Chow Collection ~Delta State University Archives and Museum

Mississippi Delta Chinese
Joy Woo-Chow Collection ~Delta State University Archives and Museum

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.

Displaying balloons received as gifts Rex A. Moore Collection ~Jackson-George Regional Library System

Displaying balloons received as gifts
Rex A. Moore Collection ~Jackson-George Regional Library System

Resources

Best Practices

Our resources section is designed to help cultural heritage institutions digitize items for inclusion in the Mississippi Digital Library. From policies to metadata, workflows to rights statements, we’re here to help.

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. 

 

The Mississippi Digital Library is the collaborative digital library for the state of Mississippi. Made up of over 40 institutions, our partners include archives, historical societies, museums, public libraries, academic libraries and more. Membership and searching the collections are always free! See what Mississippi has to offer. www.msdiglib.org

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

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.

Email Elizabeth

Meet with Elizabeth

Hannah Dean

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.

Email Hannah

Meet with Hannah

 
 

 

Current Advisory Board

Emily Irwin Jones - Delta State University

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

 
 

Explore Our Partner Network