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Veterans History Project (VHP): Exploring the Collections

Using Digitized VHP Collections

Many Veterans History Project (VHP) collections include digitized and born-digital content which is made available online. This section of the guide will provide instructions about finding and using digitized collection materials.

Finding Digitized Collections

Using the Veterans History Project (VHP) online database, you can limit your search to include collections which have digitized material. Select "yes" under the "Digitized Collection?" field, as pictured below.

Screenshot of the Veterans History Project online database, with the Digitized Collections field highlighted in yellow.

Your search results will be a list of collections which fit your other search terms or limits (in the example pictured above, Persian Gulf War collections for veterans who served in the Army) and which contain digitized material. Each of these results will have a button reading VIEW DIGITIZED COLLECTION as well as a brief description of the digitized content.

To view the digitized collection materials, click on the VIEW DIGITIZED COLLECTION button.

A screenshot of search results from the Veterans History Project including digitized collections, with highlighted content.

Please note that in many instances, VHP collections have been partially digitized and may contain additional materials that are not available for online viewing. You can view a list of all materials in the collection by accessing the VHP collection record. In the "Collection Information" half of the record, on the left-hand side, you will see a full list of materials under the heading "Type of Resource." For more information on collection records, please see the "Getting Started" section of this guide.

If the collection record does not include this button then it is not yet available for online viewing, and you will need to schedule an appointment to view the materials onsite at the Library of Congress. Please see the "Using Collections On-Site" section of this guide for more details. For more information how collections get digitized, see "Common Questions" section of this guide.

Downloading Digitized Materials

Once you have identified the items from the digitized collection that you wish to download, right-click (or command+click on a Mac) on the "Download" link and select, "Save As." Please note that each file will need to be saved individually.

A screenshot of Dan Akee's collection from the Veterans History Project, with the "Complete Interview" link highlighted in yellow.

Please note that the veteran or their family retain all copyright to the material in VHP collections. If you wish to use items from a Veterans History Project (VHP) collection in a publication or exhibition, you will need to obtain permission from the veteran (or their next of kin).

For more information, please contact VHP at [email protected] or 888-371-5848.