HPLD Archive &
Local History
HPLD Archive &
Local History
HPLD’s archive and local history collections contain lots of items that can be accessed in-person at HPLD Library & Archive as well as LINC Library Innovation Center, plus items that can be accessed online.
The Greeley Tribune Collection contains three main units: the 1200+ bound-volumes of The Tribune, the photo archive consisting of approximately 15 years’ of photo negatives produced by Tribune photographers, another dozen or so years of digital photos on disc, and 45 boxes of clippings that Greeley Tribune staff collected and filed by subject.
There are also some blueprints from the old Greeley Tribune (5th St) building, and an array of publications (ready reference-style books, almanacs, and a few photography books) that came out of the offices after the Tribune staff vacated the building that became LINC Library Innovation Center.
HPLD’s archive also has bound volumes ranging in date from 1870 to 2019 with a few gaps, including 10 years between January 1987 to November 1997 that the Tribune did not bind. The only way to access those years is via microfilm housed at LINC.
Some of the material in the volumes we have has been digitized (either from microfilm or from the originals), and those digitized editions can be found on the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (no library card or subscription needed) and/or Newspaper Archive and Newsbank, databases you can access remotely with your library card.
This set of administrative and operational documents, ledger/accession books, scrapbooks, photos, slides, and a few random books and A/V items tell the history of HPLD and its antecedents.
Some of the earliest materials are records from the Greeley Public Library at the turn of the last century. The collection also contains items that explain the origins of the Weld County Library (1931), our first county-owned bookmobile (1941), the growth of the County Library in the middle of the 20th century, the fiscal crisis of 1985 that led to the creation of the Weld Library District, and the circumstances that gave rise to choosing the name “High Plains Library District” in 2008.
The collection also includes a bit of ephemera, press clippings, and oral histories (and transcripts) from two previous directors and the county official who helped in the creation of the district.
This collection contains about 30 bound volumes of the Erie Review from the late 1990s/early 2000s, some photo albums from a former teacher at Erie High of Erie High students and events, and an assortment of historical maps/documents related to the history of Erie.
Accessing The Tribune Collection, HPLD Institutional Archive, and History of Erie Collection:
The best way to access any of these items is to fill out a Book a Librarian Request. Access the form, and under the Area of Instruction, select “Archival Research.”
A staff member will reach out to you to arrange an appointment and/or answer your questions via phone or email.
All research visits will be scheduled during the hours that the HPLD Library & Archive are currently open.
A Brief Note About Collections Not Located at HPLD Library & Archive:
For genealogical resources, please check our Genealogy Services page.
The Library & Archive doesn’t have any city directories, phone books, maps, or family histories. Many of those materials, as well as the microfilm for The Greeley Tribune, are housed in the Genealogy Collection at LINC Library Innovation Center as well as in HPLD branches that have Local History collections.
The Hazel E. Johnson Research Center at the Greeley Museums is the other main site for researching local history, and some sources can also be found in the Archives and Special Collections Department at Michener Library on the University of Northern Colorado campus.
No matter what you might be looking for, reach out, and we’ll be glad to provide it if we can or give you some suggestions as to where to look next.
Historic
Newspapers
Collection
HPLD is working with The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection to begin digitizing the physical copies of The Greeley Tribune. This process will help preserve the oldest and most fragile copies of the newspaper while increasing their accessibility to researchers and readers.
Several years have already been digitized, and more are coming soon!
Images Collection
A collection of images taken in Weld County, Colorado during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Images in this collection were acquired through individual donations to the City of Greeley Museums. The Weld County Images Collection was a multi-year, joint project of the Greeley Museums and the High Plains Library District. The project was made possible in part by a Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant.
Collection
Includes items from local newspapers, business documents and local photographs. This digital collection consists of approximately 100 items.
The Kersey Local History Collection was a collaborative project between the Kersey Museum, LIS graduate students at the University of Denver, and the High Plains Library District.
Weld County, Colorado is home to a multitude of talented individuals from all walks of life. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, homemakers, farmers, ranchers, brewers, sculptors, writers, poets, visual artists, filmmakers, and street performers are all part of the mixture that represent the past, present and very exciting future of Weld County and Northern Colorado.
Weldcast’s mission is to record, archive, and share the stories of the Weld County area.
