January/February 2025
Happy New Year from Special Collections!
Collage of library activities from the 1970s and 1980s.
The library’s institutional archives include nearly 18,000 photographs! This past fall we put thousands of 35mm slides in our Digital Collections. The collection includes photos of both Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County libraries and covers the 1930s through the 2000s, with the bulk from the 1970s and 80s. Find photos of building construction and remodels, interior and exterior views, library staff and patrons, groundbreaking ceremonies, equipment and technology, programs and outreach activities, staff parties, and a whole lot more. Use the filters on the left to browse by library, decade, or subject.
Nearly 500 of these photographs contain unidentified individuals (including patrons!) or unknown locations. Help us identify them! View all digitized photos in the library archive or browse unidentified and unknown photos.
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Browse more than 150 issues from five local music magazines from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, including In-Beat, Twin City a-Go-Go, Music Scene, T.M.C. ‘Insider’, and, most notably, The Insider. The Insider, published by Conrad ‘Connie’ Hechter, was the premier music publication in the Twin Cities during the 1970s, covering all aspects of popular music and culture in the Twin Cities, and tracking the rise of local musicians such as Prince and the development of the Minneapolis Sound. Hechter’s daughter, Cynthia Hechter Rollins, generously granted permission to the library to make these digital copies available to the public, while Steve Kaplan gave permission for In-Beat. St. Louis Park resident Jeanne Anderson was instrumental in gaining these permissions for the library and gathering print copies for us to digitize. View the collection online.
The following new donations were received in Special Collections in fall 2024:
Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization Records
Board meeting materials, financial records, newsletters, project and subject files, and other administrative records of the Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization, the official neighborhood group for the Webber-Camden neighborhood of North Minneapolis. Records from the 1990s-2010s.
Southeast Como Improvement Association Records
Administrative records and subject files of the Southeast Como Improvement Association, the official neighborhood organization for the Como neighborhood of Minneapolis. Includes historic and architectural survey of houses and buildings in neighborhood (pictured right). Materials from the 1990s-2010s.
Garden Club of Minneapolis Records
Minutes, newsletters, directories, correspondence, event and administrative files from the Garden Club of Minneapolis. Founded in 1942 as the Men's Garden Club of Minneapolis, the club membership includes gardeners from throughout the Twin Cities. The club was instrumental in the founding of the University of Minnesota Arboretum.
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Cheryl Walsh Bellville Children's Theatre Company Photographs
Prints, negatives, correspondence, contact sheets, and photo tear sheets of Cheryl Walsh Bellville's work photographing productions for the Children's Theatre Company from 1986 to 1992. Contact sheet for Peter Pan pictured right.
Bertha Mae Johnston Minneapolis Hiking Club Records
Photoprints and ephemera from Minneapolis Municipal Hiking Club (Minihikers) events and trips in Minnesota and other parts of U.S. Arranged by topic and date. Johnston was a long-time president and board member of the club.
Bibi Black Minneapolis Charter Commission Materials
Minutes, agendas, meeting materials, and correspondence from the Minneapolis Charter Commission, compiled by a commission member.
Cedar Lake Park Association Video Recording
Digital video recordings of Neil Trembley biking the Kennilworth Trail in 2018 and narrating the ride.
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Minneapolis Public Library Realia
As our year ended, so too did the work of our 2024 grant-funded project workers. For the past two years, The Friends of Hennepin County Library have provided funding for archival processing of the library’s institutional archives, which currently includes over one hundred collections related to our libraries, collections, programs, and services. Check out these recently processed collections.
Minneapolis Public Library Realia
Three-dimensional items from the Minneapolis Public Library. The collection is comprised of six series: Bags, Buttons, Cloth, Pens and Pencils, and Objects. Objects include sister city gifts, rubber stamps, bookplate printing plates, souvenir items, and more. Most items in the collection were created as promotional giveaways, but others were created for staff use or special events. Pictured above are a film storage box from the circulating film collection and the quick reference Rolodexes from the InfoLine phone room. View finding aid.
Minneapolis: Portrait of a Lifestyle Program Records
Event brochures, programs, posters, grant applications, correspondence and other administrative files from 1979 to 1982. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Minneapolis Public Library’s Minneapolis: Portrait of a Lifestyle project studied why Minneapolis rated so highly in national quality of life studies despite extremes of climate and isolation. View finding aid.
Minneapolis Public Library Newspaper Indexing Project Records
Records of two Minneapolis Public Library projects to index the Minneapolis Journal and Minneapolis Star and Tribune. Materials include training manuals, production records, progress reports, and correspondence. The bulk of the collection documents the Minneapolis Journal project conducted from 1938 to 1942. View finding aid.
Minneapolis Public Library Strategic Plans
Minneapolis Public Library strategic planning documents and reports from 1968 to 2007. View finding aid.
Environmental Conservation Library (ECOL) Records
ECOL was a state center for environmental information, focusing on Minnesota and the surrounding area’s natural resources and conservation efforts. ECOL was housed in and administered by the Minneapolis Public Library from 1972 to 1996 and funded by the state, the Library Board, and grants and pledges from foundations and individuals. Collection includes documents from 1966 to 1996, including quarterly newsletters, book catalogs and booklists, proposals and records of the legislative efforts to fund the library, manuals, and various environmental reports. View finding aid.
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Collage of black and white images from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection.
Find inspiration for joyful wintertime activities in the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection!
- Build a snow sculpture as if you were a kid again (photo P16146)
- Take up knitting or join the Minneapolis Central Craft Club, which meets most Sundays from noon to 2pm (Photo P06499)
- Read books snuggled on the couch with your family (photo P20402)
- Invite friends over for tea (Photo P16037)
- Stop to play a game of chess in the Central Library atrium Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings (Photo P18429)
- Make an extra big pot of soup (Photo P09121)
- Join a choir, or just sing! (Photo P26679)
- Roast marshmallows indoors (Photo P71359)
- Be shocked and surprised by art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It’s free! (Photo P07808)
- Take to the frozen lakes on skates (Photo P90123)
- Cook popcorn over the stove (Photo P21170)
- Meet friends at Central Library’s Vinyl listening room (3rd floor) or stop by a monthly Listening Party for a community-style listening session with fellow music lovers.
- Reinvigorate your body with a polar plunge (Photo P91440)
- Embrace winter sports (Photo P62997)
- Spark creativity in an art class. Check the library’s events calendar for free arts and crafts classes (Photo P10130)
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James K. Hosmer Special Collections
Hennepin County Library Minneapolis Central Library 300 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN 55401
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9am - 4:30pm.
Appointments are not necessary, but you do need to call Special Collections or check-in at the 4th floor reference desk upon arrival for department access. You can speed up your visit by requesting materials be pulled in advance. Photocopier and scanners are available. Please bring a flash drive to store your scanned images.
Photo: Inside the climate-controlled Special Collections vault, where rare books, negatives, and AV material is stored.
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