by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
The Minnesota Digital Library began its work sharing and preserving Minnesota's digital legacy twenty years ago, in 2005. Since that time, the collection has grown to 60,000 unique items shared by 205 organizations in 72 of Minnesota's 87 counties.
The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) is proud to celebrate 20 years of preserving and sharing Minnesota’s rich culture and history. Over two decades, MDL has collaborated with cultural heritage organizations across the state to build a digital legacy for Minnesotans today, and for generations to come.
The Minnesota Digital Library is a central hub for digitized historical materials from every corner of the state. All told, MDL brings together more than sixty thousand unique items from the collections of 204 historical societies, libraries, archives, and cultural organizations. These participating organizations are located in 72 of Minnesota's 87 counties, demonstrating MDL's broad reach and commitment to representing the diverse history of the entire state.
MDL's value lies not only in its representation of Minnesota's story, but also in its preservation of moments that resonate with local communities. For residents of Winona, the collection includes a photograph from the Winona State University Archives depicting a kindergarten classroom at the Winona Normal School. Winona was home to the first State Normal School in Minnesota, established in 1858, and notably founded the state's first kindergarten, in 1880, as part of its innovative "model school" program based on play-based learning. The photograph perfectly captures that approach, showing children engaged with building blocks and offering a glimpse into the Model School Kindergarten, circa 1910. By digitizing and making this image accessible, MDL has preserved an important piece of Winona’s history as a foundational site for teacher training and early childhood education.
The Minnesota Digital Library’s process of sharing historical materials with Minnesota and the world is a collaborative effort. MDL works directly with contributing organizations to identify archival materials that are a fit for the collection. These items are then expertly digitized by MDL’s partners at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Historical Society. After digitization, the contributing organizations create detailed descriptions for the items, ensuring they are easily findable and well understood. Finally, the digitized materials are uploaded to the MDL website, mndigital.org, where they are freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection, in Minnesota and beyond. This centralized approach allows users to explore collections from multiple institutions in one convenient location, uncovering connections that might otherwise remain hidden.
The Minnesota Digital Library is a program of Minitex, a publicly supported network of academic, government, and special libraries, and a joint program of the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. MDL is made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. This funding highlights the public value and statewide importance of preserving and sharing Minnesota's cultural heritage.
Shawn Rounds, Minnesota State Archivist, emphasized the significance of MDL's work and its anniversary. "The Minnesota Digital Library is an invaluable resource, bringing together rich digital content from across the state into one easily searchable collection," said Rounds. "The Minnesota Historical Society is proud to be a partner to MDL and to celebrate the milestone anniversary of this treasured collection of our state’s history and culture."
For 20 years, by providing free, online access to a vast array of historical documents, photographs, maps, audio, and video recordings, the Minnesota Digital Library has empowered students, researchers, genealogists, and curious citizens to connect with their local history and the broader story of Minnesota. Through MDL, Minnesota's past is not only preserved, but also actively used and appreciated by its people.
MDL will celebrate its anniversary at an afternoon reception on Wednesday, May 7, at St. Paul’s Union Depot, in conjunction with the Upper Midwest Digital Collections Conference and MDL Annual Meeting (conference registrants only).
You can explore the treasures shared with the Minnesota Digital Library over the past 20 years for yourself by browsing our collection at mndigital.org.
