Quick Summary
Thanks to the many dedicated staff at Minitex and in the library community who worked on the project, MNLINK's transition to a new software platform is complete. The pursuit of continuous improvement, for MNLINK and all Minitex services, goes on.
Four months after the new MNLINK went live, it’s time to close the book on this transition. This was a collective effort, made possible by the hard work of hundreds of people. It began with a charge from the Minitex Policy Advisory Council to recommend a new solution for MNLINK, the statewide service that provides a discovery and interlibrary loan interface for library patrons and staff. The MNLINK Transition Task Force spent nearly a year developing system requirements, reviewing vendor responses, scoring them, drafting demo requirements, and scoring again.
After the software was chosen, the work started anew. Multiple committees were formed, including Implementation, Training, End-User, and Communications teams. Technology staff collaborated, asking and answering questions, and finding solutions compatible with their systems. Dozens of people worked tirelessly to export data, establish connections, and create documentation. As the team expanded, hundreds of interlibrary loan and public services staff participated in weeks of online training. A week after launch, many MNLINK committee members, trainers, and implementers gathered at the Minitex Connect conference to learn from the vendor, ask questions, and engage with fellow professionals.
Since then, we’ve addressed several issues, made some changes, and are working on further developments to improve the system. While the work continues, the implementation phase is now complete. A heartfelt thanks to everyone who volunteered their time to keep the MNLINK service running for all Minnesotans—it’s your dedication that ensures Minnesotans have a strong statewide interlibrary loan system.
