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Bringing Illinois’ Past Into The Present

Advantage Archives is partnering with communities to provide free, practical access to local history.

Advantage Archives Is Partnering With Illinois Communities To Provide Free Access To Local History

We forge long-lasting partnerships with community leaders across the state to preserve and digitize Illinois’ rich history in order to make it discoverable and easily accessible to anyone from anywhere.

Only through these strong partnerships have we been able to provide free access to local history, allowing Illinois communities to understand and connect to their past in a meaningful way. Through preservation microfilming, we ensure your past has a future and, with digitization, make it easily accessible in the present.

Preserve

We are focused on the preservation and digital accessibility of Illinois historical collections and documents so that your community’s history is available for current and future generations.

Access

We are committed to greater access to Illinois’ local historical content and primary source materials. We work on digitizing Iowa’s history to make it more easily accessible.

Unlock

We believe in forging strong and meaningful partnerships, and as your partner, our role is to provide free and open access to unlock Illinois past, leading to a more connected future for Iowans.

The Community History Archives on Ipad and Laptop

Making Illinois History Accessible to Anyone from Anywhere

Michelle Maltas, the Community Partnership Manager for the state of Illinois, focuses on digitizing Illinois’ rich history, one community at a time. Thanks to the strong partnerships she has formed with communities across the state, Illinois’ primary source materials are more discoverable and easily accessible than ever. Free online digital access allows Illinoisians to understand and connect to their past in a meaningful way.

Digitization Of Illinois’ Books And Bound Volumes

Books, journals, bound newspaper volumes, ledgers, scrapbooks, and other collated paper documents contain the accounts of the events, people, and places that shaped your community, the state of Illinois, and the nation.

Digitizing these pages from Illinois’ past minimizes the handling of the original materials and ensures that this important local history is never lost to fading, torn pages, broken bindings, or contaminants!

Digitization Of Illinois’ Newspapers

Illinoisans that visit your institution will have a powerful tool that can save time by searching through your community’s history by name, date range, keywords, publication, or location…and not limited to a reel at a time or if a microfilm reader is occupied (or operational!).

Advantage Archives also offers a user-friendly digital solution to research Illinois history via our Community History Archives hosted solution.

Digitization Of Historical Illinois Documents

Printed, handwritten, and even drawn content contained in the documents in communities across the state of Illinois provides invaluable insight into the people, places, and events, that shaped Iowa.

Once digitized, these Illinois records, writings, and documents can be made easily accessible in a Community History Archive or provided to you to be used in your institution’s existing access solution.

A lady using The Community History Archives to do Research

Illinois’ Community History Archives

Connect IIllinois’ communities to their past with a Community History Archive, an easy-to-use yet powerful digital search platform. Advantage Archives hosts these “portals to the past” at no cost to Illinois institutions, so you, in turn, can offer free access to your community.

These free-to-use digital archives provide practical access to Illinois’ local primary resources and are available to anyone, at any time, on any device, for free!

Digitization Of Illinois’ Photographic Originals

Digitization ensures that the photographs, negatives, or slides that captured Illinois’ history can be viewed anytime, anywhere, from any device. This allows us to see with our own eyes the people, places, and events from long ago that shaped Iowa.

Digitized photographic materials enable Iowans to share those moments with others, while the original copy can be properly stored to preserve it and minimize handling.

Digitization Of Yearbooks And Annuals From Illinois

Illinois yearbooks and annuals capture a snapshot in time, providing insight into the people of Iowa and the times in which they lived. Alumni, genealogists, or anyone that wants to look back on their “glory days” will have free access to those pages of Illinois’ past.

Advantage Archives provides non-destructive scanning solutions and online digital access to these valuable records of the history of Illinois.

Digitization Of IIllinois’ Maps, Land Records, And Atlases

Converting Illinois’ maps, state and county atlases, land records, plats, plans, prints, and large format documents to a portable and easily searchable digital format will save space, shorten research time, and make the content widely accessible.

Digitization limits the need to handle the original. These historical Illinois documents are often so large and on such thin paper that they are at risk each time they are unfolded.

Preservation Microfilming To Archive Illinois’ Past

We believe that the preservation of Illinois’ history is a shared responsibility. We are proud to partner with like-minded individuals across the state to preserve the words printed in Illinois’ newspapers & documents.

Silver halide 35MM archival microfilm is stable and durable, with a life expectancy of over 500 years under the proper storage and handling conditions. The only way to preserve Illinois’ past giving it a future.

Imaging Services For Illinois Industries And Government

The document imaging services from the Information Management Solutions team rise above the level of a typical “service bureau.” We approach each scanning, indexing, or conversion project from the perspective of a partner with a mutually shared goal.

No other “scanning company” in Illinois or large national records management business can compete with our approach or our pride in the partnerships we develop.

Bring Illinois’ Past Into The Present

Provide Free Access To Local Illinois History With A

Community History Archive

Michelle Maltas at Advantage Archives partners with communities in Illinois and across the United States to archive & provide practical digital access to local historical content so that anyone, anywhere, can access it at any time, for free.

If you are affiliated with an Illinois library, newspaper publisher, genealogical society, historical society, government agency, or educational institution, and are interested in seeing more of Iowa’s primary sources and local history online, schedule a time to talk to Michelle about creating a Community History Archive!

Meet Michelle Maltas

Illinois Community Partnership Manager

Michelle partners with communities across the state of Illinois to ensure their local history is freely available, now and in the future. Michelle has been married for 34 years and enjoys spending time with her two daughters and two grandchildren.

 

(855) 303-2727 Ext. 156

Michelle Maltas, Community Partnership Manager For The State Of Illinois

If you are interested in learning more about how you can make more of Illinois history more accessible, then schedule a time to talk with Michelle Maltas about a partnership with Advantage Archives. Michelle is the Partnership Manager for the state of Illinois and has helped numerous Illinois communities make their history more accessible.

Pick a time and day that work for you, and Michelle will set up a telephone or video meeting to discuss how Advantage can help you and your Illinois community.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Our Blog Features Spotlights On Michelle’s Partners In Illinois, Tips & Tricks, Interesting Finds, Articles Of Interest, Updates, And Much More.

Spotlight: Hinsdale Public Library (Illinois)

Hinsdale Public Library The Hinsdale Public Library gives patrons easier access to local history with their Community History Archive, featuring newspapers from 1896. The Hinsdale Public Library is located in Hinsdale, Illinois, serving a community of nearly 17,000. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago, in Cook and DuPage Counties. Advantage Archives takes great pride […]

Spotlight: Moline Public Library (Illinois)

The Moline Public Library The Moline Public Library digitizes Historic Moline newspapers from 1850 to 1969 to give the local community easier access to Moline history. The Moline Public Library is located in Moline, Illinois, serving a community of nearly 42,000. Moline is located in Northwest Illinois, in Rock Island County. Advantage Archives takes great […]

Spotlight: Illinois Prairie District Public Library

The Illinois Prairie District Public Library Illinois Prairie District Public Library gives access to local history dating as far back as 1830. The online archive includes Metamora Herald, Washburn Leader, Roanoke Review, among other local and surrounding community papers. The Illinois Prairie District Public Library is located in Metamora, Ilinois, serving multiple communities of nearly […]

Spotlight: Galva Public Library District (Illinois)

Galva Public Library District The Galva Public Library District has given Galva and the surrounding areas access to local history dating back to the late 1800’s. That history is available online with their Community History Archive. The Galva Public Library District is located in Galva, Illinois, serving a community of 3,570. Galva is located in […]

Spotlight: Marshall Public Library (Illinois)

The Marshall Public Library (Illinois) The Marshall Public Library digital archive provides access to the rich history of Marshall and the surrounding areas thanks to the Marshall Public Library. The online archive includes Marshall, IL area newspapers and yearbooks dated back as early as 1840. The Marshall Public Library is located in Marshall, IL, serving […]

Spotlight: The Stark County Genealogical Society in Toulon, IL

The Stark County Genealogical Society The Stark County Genealogical Society’s Community History Archive features The Stark County News (from 1857-1984 and from 2002-2009) the Stark County Union published in 1882, and The Prairie Times published in LaFayette, Illinois, from 1987-2000. The Stark County Genealogical Society collects, organizes and disseminates genealogical information related to current and […]

Don’t Just Take Our Word For It!

See what some of our partners from around Iowa have to say about their relationship with Michelle Maltas, Advantage Archives, their Community History Archive, or the importance of making Illinois’ history more accessible.

McDonough County Genealogical Society in Illinois

To any organization considering using Advantage Archives to preserve your community history, DON’T WAIT!  This information is TOO important to delay this project.  Find a way to do it a little at a time if need be, but DO IT!  You’ll be answering questions that others have been searching for.

Julie Terstriep

Harvard Diggins Library In Illinois

We have newspapers on microfilm dating back from 1869. There is quite a lot of information in this collection from the local newspapers, but putting them in digital form is exciting for us and is something not very many libraries are capable of right now. The very idea that the entire collection would be made available for free access to anyone anywhere is amazing.

Karen Sutera

Illinois Prairie District Library in Illinois

Our Community History Archive is a resource that allows the library to work towards it’s mission of providing materials, programming, and other services. It’s just one of the services offered to the community, whether it’s within the walls of the library or accessed remotely.

Joel Shoemaker

Brimfield Public Library in Illinois

We are so pleased with our digitized newspapers from Advantage Archives. The Advantage staff were great to work with, always courteous, very knowledgeable, and above-and-beyond helpful!

Patti Smith

Moline Public Library in Illinois

Our digital collection of historic Moline newspapers connects our community to events that impact and transform their lives.  It makes history come to life. People can fill in missing pieces from their memories.

Lisa Powell Williams

Moline Public Library in Illinois

It’s been rewarding to observe patrons’ faces, as they express their delight in finding a missing piece of whatever puzzle they were researching. We hear many “guess what I found?” stories.  People often find family tree information, connections for reunions, or reminiscing about their high school sports records.

Lisa Powell Williams

Brimfield Public Library District in Illinois

We are so pleased with our digitized newspapers from Advantage Archives. The Advantage staff were great to work with, always courteous, very knowledgeable, and above-and-beyond helpful!”

Patti Smith

Moline Public Library in Illinois

Our Community History Archive is a valuable research tool for our Moline community because it saves the time of the researcher and makes “lost things found.” One example, in working on a collaborative project with a local museum for the upcoming 100th Anniversary of Suffrage in the United States, I found sample ballots for a local election—the men’s ballot and the women’s ballot from 1919.  Illinois allowed women to vote in 1891 for school officials and by 1913, Governor Edward Dunne signed the Illinois suffrage bill.

Lisa Powell Williams

McDonough County Genealogical Society in Illinois

I HIGHLY recommend Advantage Archives[…]  They deliver what they promise on time and on budget. 

Julie Terstriep
Using The Community History Archives

Join The Conversation!

A community is more than just a group of people that happen to live in the same place; it is a group of individuals that share a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. That is why we created CommunityHistoryArchives.com. Community History Archives is a "community of communities," connecting like-minded individuals and institutions that share our love of history and a passion for connecting our communities to their past!

Interested In Learning More?

Tell Michelle a little about yourself, your institution, and what kind of project you would like to discuss. She would love to talk to you!

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    Digitization Of Historical Books and Bound Volumes

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    Digitization Of Yearbooks and Annuals

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    Digitization Of Yearbooks and Annuals

    Digitization Of Photographic Materials

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    Digitization Of Maps, Atlases, And Land Records

    Digitization Of Maps, Atlases, And Land Records

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