News & Events

Phase 2 Project Proposals (This phase ended on 30 August 2006.)

The Minnesota Digital Library Coalition is please to announce it has received a Library Services and Technology Act grant to continue the development of the Minnesota Digital Library. The first portion of Phase 2 will be adding images to Minnesota Reflections, our signature project. For images inn Phase 2, we have expanded the project timeline to include images taken prior to 1923. We continue to encourage submission of images from the earliest period of Minnesota history.

Participation requirements and project applications for the image portion of this project are available in the Call For Project Proposals (PDF) or Call for Project Proposals (Word document).

The second portion of Phase 2 expands the project to include primary source documents on the theme of "Minnesota Triumphs, Tragedies and Treasures." We are seeking documents that address a broad definition of this theme, particularly those that have not been digitized. For further information about this project, as well as participant requirements and project application, see the Minnesota Triumphs, Tragedies and Treasures (Word) or Minnesota Triumphs, Tragedies and Treasures (pdf).

2006 MDL Annual Meeting

The 4th Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Digital Library attracted 140 people who came together to discuss the use of MDL resources, contributing to the MDL through "Minnesota Reflections," and the continuing work of the Minnesota Digital Library Coalition.

Session topics included:

  • How you can be part of the MDL
  • Digital Resources and the K-12 Community
  • What Comes Next for the MDL?
  • Develop a Presentation using "Minnesota Reflections"
  • Beyond Photos: Digitizing Documents and Maps
  • How to be Popular and Make Money with Digital Images
  • Scanning 101
  • Metadata 101
  • Choosing What to Digitize

See the complete program (available in Adobe PDF or MS Word) for a list of speakers.

"Pixels to Projects" workshop — June 20 and 22, 2005

The Minnesota Digital Library Coalition is pleased to offer the "Pixels to Projects" workshop covering best practices for digitization and metadata.

Jason Roy, Central Collections Services Manager for the Minnesota Historical Society, will discuss the digitization process (scanning, image control, etc.) and his experience in working with images for the "Minnesot Reflections" initiative.

John Chapman, Metadata Librarian for the University of Minnesota Libraries, will demystify metadata, the MDLC's metadata standards as applied in "Minnesota Reflections," and strategies to improve descriptive practices for collections.

The "Pixels to Projects" workshop will be presented in two locations:

Monday, June 20, 2005
University of Minnesota Duluth Library
Duluth, MN
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Memorial Library ML 110
Mankato, MN
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.



2005 MDLC annual conference

The Minnesota Digital Library Coalition held its 3rd annual conference on Monday, 6 June, at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The conference attracted 106 librarians, archivists, educators, and museum staff from around Minnesota.

Conference Presentations Online:



Minnesota Digital Library listserv

To participate in discussions about continuing development of the Minnesota Digital Library project, subscribe to the MDL listserv. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MDL listserv, go to

http://lists.stcloudstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/mdl



Minnesota Reflections project manager appointed

James Dildine has been appointed Project Manager for Minnesota Reflections. Previously an Archivist for the Arizona Historical Society/Northern Arizona Division and a curatorial specialist at the University of Arizona, Jim brings to Minnesota considerable experience in working with and digitizing historic photography collections. Last year Jim was an acting systems librarian at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jim is working out of an office at the Minnesota History Center, St. Paul (jim.dildine@mnhs.org).



Collections for digitization form

The Minnesota Digital Library Coalition (MDLC) has received a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Libraries and School Technology unit of the Minnesota Department of Education. With this funding, the Coalition is creating our signature project, Minnesota Reflections, the first collection in the Minnesota Digital Library.

We continue to invite archives, museums, historical societies, and public and academic libraries in Minnesota to submit digitization project proposals. Jim Dildine, Project Manager, will be contacting archives and libraries that have already submitted proposals in the near future. Funding for Minnesota Reflections comes from a Library Services and Technology Act and the Libraries and School Technology unit of the Minnesota Department of Education.