Computers in the 1950s by Seeking Michigan

The Department of History, Arts and Libraries has launched the Seeking Michigan Web site (www.seekingmichigan.org), a growing collection of unique historical information that - through digitized source documents, maps, films, images, oral histories and artifacts - creatively tells the stories of Michigan's families, homes, businesses, communities and landscapes. The site also employs the latest Web technologies and social media.

Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan Historical Center, says that the thrust of Seeking Michigan is to move the archives and library experience out of the buildings and into people's lived. "We want to give visitors historical content and, whenever possible, the context for that content," she explained. "For K-12 educators, there's also a 'teach' page that links up with related resources and grade-level content expectations. Seeking Michigan is definitely a big boost for those who already have an interest in our state's history, including scholars, authors, genealogists and publishers," she said. "What we're very excited about is the prospect of introducing new generations of Michigan residents to the Michigan they thought they knew and helping them forge connections with our state's remarkable past."

With plans in place to add much more material, Seeking Michigan currently includes:

• More than 100,000 pages of Civil War documents
• Approximately 10,000 photographs
• A variety of Michigan sheet music
• Lots of old video!
• Roughly 1 million death records, indexed for easy searching by name, death date, location and age
• A rich section about Michigan's 44 past governors
• Works Progress Administration data (circa 1936-1942) about land and buildings throughout rural Michigan
• Oral histories with notable Michigan residents

Check it all out at seekingmichigan.org!