History Vault sets a new milestone in accessing archival collections

In 2011, ProQuest, part of Clarivate, launched an important initiative to digitize the documents that chronicle American history and enable a view of the past unfiltered by time. By partnering with prestigious museums, archives and institutions, ProQuest created History Vault, which now encompasses 25 million digital pages of archival materials, covering the critical periods and themes that define America's past.

History Vault has become a keystone for historians, students, scholars and educators investigating American history through primary sources. Now, in 2025, History Vault moves to the ProQuest platform, marking a transformative leap in accessibility, functionality and scholarly impact.

Building a comprehensive archive

History Vault's strength lies in its extensive and diverse archival collections sourced from renowned institutions such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Library of Congress, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Wisconsin Historical Society, Catholic University of America, Chicago History Museum, the Southern Historical Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and numerous state and local archives across the United States. These collections include a wide range of primary source materials spanning personal papers and organizational records to U.S. government records, such as State Department Central Files, military intelligence reports and federal agency documents.

This large array of historical documentation deeply supports studies on major themes such as the Civil Rights Movement, Southern life and enslavement, women's rights, international relations, American politics and society, labor unions and 20th-century progressive political and social movements.

Enhanced discoverability and accessibility on the ProQuest platform

With the transition to the ProQuest platform, History Vault's rich content is more discoverable than ever before. Users now have seamless access to History Vault's archival materials alongside scholarly journals, news articles, streaming video, ebooks and many other relevant sources. This single access point allows users to search across extensive collections, gaining deeper insights into pivotal historical events, societal movements, political transformations and cultural shifts that have shaped America and beyond.

Documents are also more accessible. They now open in the ProQuest platform Document Viewer, eliminating the need to download PDFs for viewing.

The archival experience recreated digitally

A standout feature of this transition is the purpose-built interface, which combines features that enable users to explore history with greater ease and accuracy.

• • Collections are presented in their original context and organizational structure so researchers can navigate digital archives just as they would navigate the originals. For educators, this setup introduces students to primary sources as if they were visiting a museum or archive.
  • New subject specific timelines trace significant historical events across eras and provide entry points into the historical documents for students and researchers. The timelines have been organized to align with key subject areas such as Early America, the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, International Relations and more.
  • Handwritten text recognition transcribes early manuscripts, making them easily searchable and more accessible.

Text mining archival materials

The migration of History Vault to the ProQuest platform represents a watershed in digital humanities and historical research, by enabling the archival content to be text mined using TDM Studio. TDM Studio is a text and data mining resource that enables researchers to analyze large volumes of textual data programmatically. This efficiency contrasts with traditional methods of manually searching through physical archives or digital documents, saving significant time and effort and allows researchers to scale their analyses to include up to two million documents at a time. TDM Studio also empowers researchers with tools like geographic analysis, topic modelling, and sentiment analysis. These allow scholars to uncover hidden trends, connections, and patterns within historical narratives that may have been challenging to identify using traditional research methods.

Looking ahead

As ProQuest History Vault enters this new phase on the ProQuest platform, the future of historical research looks increasingly accessible.

Whether exploring the struggles and triumphs of the civil rights era, the complexities of American slavery, or the dynamics of progressive political movements, History Vault continues to be an indispensable resource for researchers, teachers, and learners.

Learn more about History Vault and contact us for complimentary trials.