SPECIAL LIBRARY HOURS
The Library is always closed the Saturday of Labor Day weekend (and Memorial Day weekend) and will be again this year. We will stay closed, however, through the Republican National Convention and will reopen on Friday September 5 at 9:00 a.m.
Closed Saturday Aug. 30 - Thursday Sept. 4
BLOGS AND PODCASTS
150 Best Minnesota Books blog
Number 26 is Eric Sevareid's 1935 Canoeing with the Cree, which was reprinted by MHS's Borealis Books in 2004 (75th Anniversary Edition). Readers, please feel free both to add to and take issue with Coleman’s growing list!
Number 27 coming soon: The Republicans Are Coming, the Republicans Are Coming!
Come See It blog
"1892 Republican Convention in Minneapolis"
Come by the Library Lobby and see on display some of the wonderful pieces we have from the Republican National Convention of 1892. This includes badges, original newspapers, photographs of the event, as well as visitor guides given to the delegates. Consider the 1892 Convention in light of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Convention, which will be held just down the hill!
Library&Archives blog - NEW
On July 22 a new blog was launched: the Library&Archives blog. Blog posts might include anything related to any topic covered by the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society! In addition to information about the collections you might find information on new books, manuscripts or archives collections, maps, oral histories, photographs, etc.; discussions of historical topics; reviews of books, articles, and websites; announcements of upcoming meetings, conferences, or seminars; information about changes in the Library’s hours; and similar things. Feel free to join the discussions by commenting on the posts. Bookmark the blog and check for new posts, or register to be notified when new comments are posted.
Our Favorite Things blog
"Minnesota's First State Flag"
Creating a new state is no simple matter. Given the innumerable legislative tasks involved, we shouldn’t be surprised that one or two slipped through the cracks. What might be surprising though, is that Minnesota’s oversights included the failure to adopt an official state flag – for 35 years! It was not until plans were made for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 that the lack of a flag became a real problem. As a part of that grand fair, each of the then 44 states were invited to mount an exhibit at the fairgrounds in Chicago. As the Minnesota display was prepared, the state legislature determined that the occasion called for an official state flag.
Podcasts
"1892 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis "
As a prelude to this year’s Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Acquisitions Librarian Patrick Coleman takes a look back at the last time the Twin Cities hosted a national convention, the 1892 Republican Convention in Minneapolis. (4:42 minutes)
"Minnesota State Fair in Archival Film Footage"
In our tribute to the MN State Fair, Collections Assistant John Fulton digs into the KSTP-TV news film archives to find some stories that recall fairs gone by. Just a taste of the large amount of film in the Society's collection.
Researchers Notebook blog
Have you been to any of the "Celebrating Minneapolis History" talks on Tuesday evenings at the Minneapolis Central Library? They are a great way to commemorate the Sesquicentennial.
What's New blog
"WCCO-TV Visits the Charles A. Lindbergh House"
WCCO-TV reporter Bill Hudson visited the Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site, a house museum operated by the Minnesota Historical Society in Little Falls. Hudson spoke with site manager Charlie Pautler about Lindbergh’s boyhood in Minnesota, and his celebrated 1927 trans-Atlantic flight. Original artifacts associated with the pioneering pilot - and now a part of the MHS collections - are featured. The blog also has a link to the WCCO report.
NEW ACQUISITIONS
Archives
Highlights of the June and July Acquisitions
Minnesota state and local government records are added frequently to the State Archives collection. Although the records were recently acquired, they may not be available yet in the MHS Library catalog. For assistance using these records, please contact the Minnesota Historical Society's Reference Department by telephone, 651-259-3300, or email, reference@mnhs.org.
Books
 | Crazy Good: The Story of Dan Patch
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Highlights of some of the new books now available in the reading rooms. Featured new books can be found in the Weyerhaeuser Reading Room on the top of the book shelves under the Betsy-Tacy poster. You can also see a rotating list of some of the recent book acquisitions on the sidebar of the Library&Archives blog.
NEW RESOURCES
Placeography
Placeography is a wiki where you can share the history of and stories about a house, building, farmstead, public land, neighborhood, or any place to which you have a personal connection, in Minnesota or anywhere. If you don't have a place to contribute, please enjoy learning about others!
The new website Placeography.org, developed and hosted by the Minnesota Historical Society, is a collaborative web site that  allows anyone to create, edit, and link to pages devoted to preserving the history of homes, farms, department stores, public lands -- you name it, any physical place. Once an entry is created, others can add stories and memories, even images.
To create an entry users follow a series of prompts. A how-to page helps you get started. As much or as little information can be added and users can go back to edit their entry at any time.
TIP OF THE MONTH
You can now print census records from Ancestry.com on ledger-size paper (11 x 17") from the computers in the Weyerhaeuser Reading Room. Previously we could only print letter-size, which made many of the full-page census records tiny and difficult to read. Ask staff for directions the first time.
We also have a new digital large-scale copier that can copy collection items--maps, blueprints, drawings, posters, etc.--up to 3 feet in one direction. Paper printouts are $5 per linear foot and digital copies on a disc are the same price as photographic scans: $7 for 150 ppi, $20 for 300 ppi, and $30 for 600 ppi.
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