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Minnesota Digital Library News & Events

Minnesota Reflections has a new look!!

November 1, 2011

Minnesota Reflections is now running on CONTENTdm version 6.1 software and is easier to use and contains many new features:

  • The homepage for Minnesota Reflections now features a window that allows people to scroll through all of the contributing organization collections in this database.
  • Clicking on the collection name or on the thumbnail picture by the name will take users into the collection page. From there you may browse the individual collection. Patrons may also search either the entire collection from the homepage or search individual collections from their pages.
  • Zooming in on objects is now controlled by a slider above pictures, maps, and document pages. Moving around an image takes only a click and a drag of the object. New features include built-in commenting and tagging tools and easier to find information about each object.
  • Visitors to Minnesota Reflections may now easily browse a pre-selected set of 18 topics. On the right side of the new homepage, below the welcome message, is a list of frequently used topics. Click on a link to go to a results page on agriculture, crime and punishment, and more.

We have created tutorials for using the new Minnesota Reflections. Follow the links on the right side of the homepage to learn about "Browsing & Searching," "Viewing an object," "Special features" and "Advice on newspapers."

In addition, we will be offering a live virtual overview (webinar) on the new features of Minnesota Reflections. Watch for announcements about this webinar, or check our training page.

Apply for Phase 8 Minnesota Reflections Digitization Project

September 28, 2011

The Minnesota Digital Library is now accepting applications for projects for Phase 8 of the development of Minnesota Reflections, our digitization and database project. We will accept applications through April 30, 2012, or until we have committed all of our digitization funding.

Consult with Marian Rengel, MDL Outreach Coordinator, as you consider applying for a Minnesota Reflections digitization project. She will answer questions on all aspects of digitization projects with the Minnesota Digital Library, including funding opportunities and project scope.

This is an open call for projects. Later this year, we will be issuing a second call for projects that address specific collection development subjects. Watch for the announcement of that special call.

Teacher Guides to Minnesota Reflections

September 8, 2011

The Minnesota Digital Library is pleased to provide K-12 teachers with guides into Minnesota Reflections. More than 35 guides are now available. An additional 15 will come online this month.

The guides were written by K-12 teachers from across the state. Each guide focuses on a specific academic standard from the arts through the social sciences, and features between 8 and 20 links into Minnesota Reflections. Guides also cover all ages of students from kindergartners to seniors.

What's New with Minnesota Reflections?

July 21, 2011
Minnesota Reflections logo

In June 2011, Minnesota Reflections contained more than 75,000 individual objects, a 50% increase from June 2010.

Minnesota Reflections, our online collection of digitized cultural heritage resources from across the state, has grown dramatically in the past 12 months and will continue to grow over the summer.

In June 2011, the collection contained more than 75,000 individual objects, a 50% increase from June 2010. Approximately 30% of the organizations making contributions during FY11 (July 2010-June 2011) were new to Minnesota Reflections. More than 15,000 document pages have been added during the year, and more than 20,000 document pages from eight groups will be added this summer.

New Minnesota Reflections Metadata Guidelines Tutorials Now Available

July 21, 2011

The Minnesota Reflections Metadata Guidelines were revised in 2010. In order to help our Minnesota Reflections contributors make sense of the changes to the Guidelines, our staff developed a series of instructional tutorials. They are available at the new Tutorials page on our website.

MDL Digital Preservation Project

February 14, 2011

During Fall 2010, the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL), using funds from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, developed and implemented a digital preservation pilot project to begin exploring ways to ensure that the content from Minnesota Reflections and other institutions, including the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS), will always be accessible to Minnesotans.

From September through December, MDL staff and consultants worked with HathiTrust, a national shared digital repository, to develop a prototype project to add content to HathiTrust as a preservation archive. During the project period, nearly 50,000 images from Minnesota Reflections and 8,000 MHS images were shipped to HathiTrust.

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