Chicago Collections Consortium is a membership organization of more than 45 libraries, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage organizations collaborating to preserve and promote the history of the Chicago region.

History

Launched in 2015 after several years of planning among its charter members, Chicago Collections now sponsors a wide range of educational, community engagement, and professional development programs, including exhibitions and public lectures. Chicago Collections also provides information services such as its Cooperative Reference Network, as well as instructional materials available on member web sites. Chicago Collections has established partnerships with other non-profit organizations in the City of Chicago, including National Public Radio, Chicago Metro History Education Center, and the Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources program, to answer questions about Chicago history from researchers and the general public, and to promote use of member collections and services by teachers and students of all ages.

Chicago Collections

With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Chicago Collections has developed EXPLORE Chicago Collections (ECC), a digital portal providing access to more than 117,000 images and 6,800 archival collections from member institutions (as of September 2019). The Center for Research Libraries awarded its 2016 Primary Source Award for Access to Tracy J. Seneca (University of Illinois at Chicago), for her role in leading the development of the ECC portal.

Chicago Collections

Governing Members

Art Institute of Chicago

Center for Research Libraries

Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Chicago History Museum

Chicago Public Library

Chicago State University

Columbia College Chicago

DePaul University

Illinois Institute of Technology

Loyola University Chicago

Newberry Library

Northwestern University

Roosevelt University

University of Chicago

University of Illinois Chicago

Participating Members

Alliance Française

Dominican University

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

North Central College

North Park University

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

Associate Members

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Zoological Society

Creative Audio Archive

Francis Willard Historical Association

Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park

Lake Forest College

Lincoln Park Zoo

Oak Park Public Library

Theatre Historical Society of America

Adler Planetarium

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Rush University Medical Center

Wilmette Historical Museum

Pritzker Military Museum & Library

Partner Program

Henry Crown and Company

Union League Club of Chicago

References

External links

Chicago Collections Consortium

Further reading

Long, Elisabeth (October 22, 2015). “A Single Portal to Chicago’s History,” The University of Chicago News. Accessed September 17, 2016. Strandmark, Matthew (September 11, 2017). "EXPLORE Chicago Collections," The American Archivist Reviews Portal. Accessed March 19, 2017. Walter, Scott (February 2016). “It Takes a City: Chicago Collections Brings Collaboration to the Next Level,” ILA Reporter 34 (1). Accessed September 21, 2016

Chicago Collections

Arts organizations based in Illinois

Organizations based in Chicago

Supraorganizations