by Molly Huber
Quick Summary
The Minnesota Digital Library has opened its new project year and is accepting applications related to two important anniversaries, as well as a range of other Minnesota topics.
Help MDL celebrate its 20th anniversary! The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) turns 20 in 2025, and we are looking to reconnect with the initial contributors who got us started. We are also looking to connect for the first time with organizations in the eighteen counties who have not yet shared any historical materials with MDL. Please see our Call for Projects for more details!
We also seek content related to another important anniversary, the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has published five overarching themes that are relevant throughout the nation. MDL welcomes Minnesota materials that fall within those themes, as well as content connected to past similar celebrations, such as the centennial (1876), sesquicentennial (1926), and bicentennial (1976), that show how Minnesotans marked similar anniversaries in the past.
As always, MDL accepts applications to digitize general Minnesota content on a broad range of topics, so don't worry if you do not have anything related to the specific asks outlined above. Please contact me to talk about what you do have, and how a project could take shape. I can be reached at mollyh@umn.edu or 612-301-1329.
For more information, and the application form, please look at our Call for Projects. We welcome a wide variety of subject matter and formats, and encourage potential contributors to think broadly about what is "historic," and consider sharing more recent items as well as older ones. Applications for this project year will be accepted until May 23, 2025, or until all of our funds for this phase are fully allocated, whichever comes first.
