Spotlight on interlibrary loan in the Minitex Region: Hennepin County - Minneapolis Central Library

Marcelyn Sletten, Senior Librarian at Hennepin County-Minneapolis Central library & ILL Department Supervisor, is the primary contributor to this article.

The history of public libraries in Minnesota begins in 1869 with a group of Minneapolis businessmen who organized a subscription library, the Athenaeum. Led by member T.B Walker, lumberman and art collector, support began for a free library open to all. Walker described his motivation as “rightly-directed selfishness” and a biographer, Clara Nelson, says, “In T.B.’s opinion, a free library was the best preventative of vice and crime, of labor troubles, of intemperance and riots." The first Minneapolis Public Library opened in 1889 with room for 105,000 books and included an art gallery, the Society for Fine Arts School, two Egyptian mummies, and the natural history collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences. In the 1920s, live mammals, birds and reptiles like Gila monsters and rattlesnakes animated the collection. The original old stone castle-like library was replaced by a more modern building in 1961. The new four-story glass and steel building housed the library, planetarium, auditorium, and a museum. In 2008 the Minneapolis Public Library system consisting of 15 libraries joined the Hennepin County Library system.

Building Facts: In 2000, voters approved $110 million to replace the second library building which was not suited to digital technology or browsing. Only 15% of the collection was directly browsable by the public; 85% of materials were in closed stacks and needed to be paged for use. Cesar Pelli, the architect of local Wells Fargo tower, designed the third Central Library building which opened in 2006. The 353,000 square foot building is full of light from all directions, boasts 25 pieces of art, many commissioned for the space, and offers 300 public computers, an Adaptive Technology lab, a visual clipping file of over 60,000 images, a children’s library with interactive play spaces, a teen zone including technology like a 3-D printer, recording studio, sewing machines, a grand piano, study rooms and community meeting space – all topped by a green roof. This architectural gem is open for tours and group visits.

Collections: The 31 miles of shelving accommodate a collection of over 2 million items. Many areas of the collection are exceptional. Around 12,000 cookbooks present every type, occasion, and technique of cookery. A collection of music scores ranging from classical to hip-hop numbers around 60,000 pieces. 

ILL Facts: Minneapolis Central and the 40 other libraries in the Hennepin County Library system are a resource far beyond the metropolitan area. These libraries serve over 1.2 million county residents within an area covering over 611 square miles. The interlibrary loan area is staffed by four full-time employees with other library staff contributing hours equivalent to another 1.5 positions. Among Minnesota public libraries using the VDX system for interlibrary loans, HCL dominates both borrowing and lending traffic. Data from FY2016 shows a borrowing traffic of over 71,000 requests and lending traffic of over 60,000. In the early 1970’s an agreement was reached allowing Minitex staff direct access to the collections of the Minneapolis Public library. Today Minitex staff are provided with space within the library to retrieve and fill requests for materials for patrons in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.