Minnesota Digital Library News

The Digital Public Library of America just announced that the application for the fifth class of the DPLA Community Reps program is now open! Learn more below, tell a friend or colleague, and complete the application form to apply by April 24, 2017. The DPLA Community Reps program helps bring DPLA to local communities through outreach activities. A local community could be a school, library, academic campus, professional network, or another group of folks who might be interested in DPLA and what it has to offer. Reps give a small commitment of time to community engagement, and check-ins with DPLA staff. 

Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) staff Molly Huber and Greta Bahnemann were joined by Associate University Librarian for Data and Technology John Butler and University Copyright Program Librarian Nancy Sims in a presentation called “It’s Time: Getting it Right on Rights” at the 2017 Library Technology Conference, Macalester College, St. Paul. The well-attended presentation addressed the groundswell of rights standardization projects that are arising out of the push by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to standardize rights statements across the millions of items accessible through their website. 

New content has been added to the Minnesota Library Association (MLA) Collection in Minnesota Reflections. The collection now includes founding documents of the Association, scripts from a library radio show that ran from 1938-1939, the first traveling library book list from 1898, conference programs dating back to 1896, and association newsletters from 1939-2005.

The Minnesota Digital Library annual meeting planning committee is seeking your ideas for breakout sessions for the MDL 15th Annual Meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, May 31^st, 2017 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. The overall theme of this year’s conference is Diversity and Inclusion in Digital Collections and we are pleased to feature as our keynote the team behind Umbra Search African American History.

The Winona Public Library’s new contribution to Minnesota Reflections includes the original library blueprints, the Kenyon Cox sketches for his iconic sculpture, Library Board minutes dating back to 1866, photographs, and historical documents on the creation and operation of the Winona Public Library. The Library also contributed Winona High School commencement programs from the late 1870s and an interesting 1857 map of the City of Winona.