The Norwegian-American Historical Association is home to an extensive manuscript collection that includes letters, diaries, journals and ledgers, newspaper clippings, obituaries, congregational records, family and local histories, and other resources related to Norwegians in America. The collection also includes photographs illustrating many aspects of Norwegian-American history.
The Association originally amassed a large number of Norwegian-American books, periodicals, and newspapers, which are now housed in St. Olaf Special Collections. To view these items, please contact the library staff. Our collection of bygdebøker (regional history books) is now available as a non-circulating collection in the library. They can be viewed during normal library hours without an appointment.
Need help searching? Please contact the NAHA Archivist.
Keep in mind the Norwegian special characters when searching: Æ æ Ø ø Å å Ä ä Ö ö
Check out our other resources to aid in your search:
- Rokke Name Index provides information about people, places, and other topics located in the NAHA Archival collections.
- Lutheran Herald Index locates articles from this periodical written about or by Norwegian-Americans who were clergy, members, or otherwise associated with the Norwegian Lutheran church.
- Rowberg Index provides access to our Rowberg collection of newspaper clippings, including obituaries and other biographical data.
- Resource Guides provide curated information on selected topics.
- O.E. Rølvaag Digital Collection contains correspondence, photographs, manuscripts, and more. Funding was provided through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
- Norse-American Centennial Digital Collection contains clippings, correspondence, reports, and more. Funding was provided through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
- Flickr is the online search engine for digitized material
- NAHA Panorama Images depict large scenic vistas, cities, and assemblies of people.
- Other digitized material has been made available through the Minnesota Digital Library/Minnesota Reflections.
Researching at NAHA
Researchers are welcome to use the NAHA archives in person by appointment. Arrangements can be made to use the NAHA archives by calling (507) 786-3450 or by e-mailing naha-archivist@stolaf.edu. Appointments should generally be made several days in advance. The archivist is happy to assist visitors in finding appropriate resources, but we are unable to undertake extensive research for patrons. We can answer simple research questions on the telephone and by e-mail, but we may need a week to ten days to respond. Entire collections may not be copied and copyright restrictions must be observed.
Tips for searching in Omeka
To perform a basic search, type the keyword you want to search for in the field and either hit enter on your keyboard or click the Search (magnifying glass) button. Depending on the search settings, content in this search might include item, file, and collection metadata, and the text on simple pages.
Search options
To access the options for the basic search, click on the ellipses (...) button to the right of the search bar, next to the search (magnifying glass) button. The first set of options allows you to select a query type:
- Keyword, or general search
- Boolean, in which you can add boolean operators like AND and NOT
- Exact match, which will only find the exact matches to the word or phrases you enter
To access the advanced search, click on the ellipses (…) button to the right of the basic search bar and then click the link to “Advanced Search (Items Only)”. The “Search Items” page will load. It presents a variety of options for advanced searching across all items. You do not need to complete all fields, only as many as you want.