Collection-holding facilities in Illinois

Every state has a unique blend of ingredients that are part of its heritage and identity as both a state and as a nation.  In Illinois, a wide variety of facilities house cultural and natural history objects that they hold in trust for its citizens.  Illinois collections include irreplaceable works of art, artifacts, historical objects, books, documents, maps, photographs, audio and video tapes, digital records, and scientific specimens that document our state's unique cultural and natural heritage.  Facilities work hard caring for these collections in order to ensure their use and enjoyment today, and by future generations. 

Collection-holding facilities include museums, libraries, archives, historical sites, and historical societies.  Illinois is home to more than 6,000 such facilities.  They come in all sizes, from single rooms to multi-floored, internationally recognized institutions; they are located in small communities and large metropolitan areas; and, often they must care for many different types of materials that require different preservation methods.

The following pdfs list the names and addresses of various collection-holding facilities.  For hours of operation or current contact information, the user is advised to search the internet.