Online Research
The Cook County Historical Society offers two publicly accessible online platforms to access information on over 22,000 items in our collections.
CollectiveAccess
CCHS is thrilled to utilize CollectiveAccess as our publicly accessible, robust, and user-friendly online research tool as of summer 2026. CollectiveAccess has been adopted by several Minnesota historical societies and is endorsed by the Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums, of which CCHS is a member.
This is the main collection management system CCHS staff use to store, organize, and manage information on items in our archives.
This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the State of Minnesota through the Minnesota Historical Society from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.
Minnesota Digital Library
Founded in 2003, the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) provides free online access to a searchable database of over 60,000 historical materials—including photos, maps, documents, and oral histories—contributed by more than 200 Minnesota libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives (including the Cook County Historical Society!).
Find over 230 photos, maps, and oral histories from our archives on MDL by clicking below.