Your ordinary Columbus photographs may belong in the city's history
The library's My History archive invites residents to contribute images and descriptions that help document central Ohio.
Image: AI-generated illustrative photograph of generic media-preservation materials; not Columbus Metropolitan Library equipment, a collection object or a staffed scanning service.
A photograph does not have to show a famous person or a landmark ceremony to help explain Columbus. A neighborhood gathering, a performance or a familiar building can preserve details that a future researcher would otherwise struggle to reconstruct. Columbus Metropolitan Library's My History project invites residents to share those records.
The digital archive brings together images, documents, maps and artifacts about central Ohio. Its public contribution page specifically welcomes old local photographs and material documenting events, buildings, demonstrations and the COVID-19 pandemic. Searching the existing collections can also suggest what context makes a contribution useful.
My History Upload accepts files including photographs, documents, audio and video, with a current maximum of 200 MB per file. After uploading, contributors describe each item and submit it for librarian review. Material does not appear automatically; the library says a staff member will advise when a submission has been approved.
Before contributing, identify the place, approximate date, people or occasion as carefully as possible, separating known facts from guesses. Review the library's submission terms and make sure you have the right to share the material. Keep your own original and its background information. The details beside an image may be what turn it from an attractive snapshot into usable local history.
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