Wisconsin Historical Society
Partner Lead: Helmut Knies
The mission of the Wisconsin Historical Society is to help connect people to the past. The Historical Society is both a state agency and a non-profit membership organization. It has a statutory duty to collect and preserve historical and cultural resources related to Wisconsin and to make them available to the public. To meet these objectives, the Society operates a major history research collection on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in fourteen Area Research Centers located around the state. It provides public history programming directly to a wide audience. It also provides technical services and advice to about 350 affiliated local historical societies throughout Wisconsin. It conducts, publishes, and disseminates research on Wisconsin and United States history, and it serves as the state’s historic preservation office.
The Historical Society’s Library and Archives maintain notable history collections including areas such as state and local history; genealogy; labor history; religion; anthropology; ethnic history; business and industry; social action; mass communications; and dramatic arts, including theater, motion pictures, and television. The Library forms part of the University’s library system and serves as the American history research collection for the UW-Madison. It acquires books, periodicals, newspapers, print ephemera, audio-visual materials, and electronic publications documenting the history of the United States and Canada. The Library is also a regional depository for U.S. federal government publications and official depository for Wisconsin state government publications.
The Archives program includes the State Archives, Wisconsin local government records archives, and a major manuscript repository. It acquires, catalogs, preserves, and makes available primary source materials including maps, photographs, sound recordings, films, videos, and electronic records pertaining to Wisconsin history and selected fields of United States history. The Archives has the statutory responsibility to collect, maintain and preserve the permanently valuable records of Wisconsin state government. It also plays an important role in the management and disposition of non-current state records working closely with the state’s Public Records Board and Department of Administration to provide records management services to all state agencies.
Contact Information:
Helmut Knies
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State St
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 264-6478
Email: helmut.knies@wisconsinhistory.org
Website: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/