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March/April 2025
Check out what’s new and noteworthy this spring in Special Collections.
In 2024, item usage of our Digital Collections increased again by 20% to 568,862 – our highest annual total to date!
Many thanks to our 2024 project workers Amy, Emma, Emily, Katie, Lauren, and Sara and to our dedicated volunteers Brian, Chuck, Dave, Jeff, Rita, Steve, and Will.
This year, we’ve welcomed back Emma, Katie, and Sara, along with newly hired Elaina as project workers. 2025 grant-funded projects include processing 17 neighborhood-related archival collections (funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund), digitizing high school newspapers, and completing digitization of the Hennepin County Communications Department photographs (both funded by the Friends of Hennepin County Library).
Photo: Frank Lair, director of the Midland Cooperative speaks in front of a gigantic chart showing increase in annual sales at their annual meeting, March 30, 1948. From the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection.
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 Skyway News was one of many community newspapers that debuted in the 1970s and 1980s. Started as Skyway News in 1970, the paper covered news and events in downtown Minneapolis as the area evolved from a business core to a mix of business and residential activity. In 2005 the paper was renamed the Downtown Journal, which was later shortened to just The Journal. The paper ceased publication in 2018. Special Collections received permission from the paper’s last publisher to put the entire run from 1970 through 2018 in the HCL Digital Collections. We have completed the first phase of this project and have loaded 1970 through 2001 into the Minneapolis Community Newspapers Collection, along with 13 other local community newspapers. Search and browse Skyway News online
The following new donations were recently received in Special Collections:
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Railroad Union Meeting Books and Ledgers – Minute, membership, and ledger books from various local railroad workers unions and women's auxiliaries in the early 1900s.
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Cedar Lake Park Association Digital Records – Digital photographs and videos taken by the Cedar Lake Park Association. Topics include Cedar Lake Park Trail, Kenilworth Trail, and other park locations. (pictured right)
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Friends of Southdale Library Records – Scrapbooks, photos and newsletters from the 1990s-2010s.
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 And these collections have all been organized and rehoused, with finding aids now online:
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West Maka Ska Neighborhood Council Records – Administrative files, minutes, newsletters, project and subject files, and photographs created or compiled by the West Maka Ska Neighborhood Council. (Previously known as West Calhoun Neighborhood Council.) View finding aid
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Clarence Shallbetter Collection on I-394 – Information from Clarence Shallbetter, past president and transportation committee chair of the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association, regarding the development plans of I-394. Included in this collection are correspondence with city and government officials from 1976 to 2004, maps of the proposed interstate, community involvement documentation, and reports on development and influences on the surrounding areas. View finding aid
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East Isles Neighborhood Association Records – General information regarding running of the East Isles neighborhood, minutes and materials from meetings, work with the Neighborhood Revitalization Project (NRP), and projects undertaken in the community. View finding aid
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Windom Park Citizens in Action Records – Administrative files, board and neighborhood meeting minutes, topical subject files, newsletters, and photographs created or compiled by Windom Park Citizens in Action (WPCIA). The collection encompasses WPCIA projects and programming, including home and neighborhood improvement plans, local businesses, development of the Quarry Shopping Center, and work with the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP). View finding aid
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Sheridan Neighborhood Organization Records – General administrative and foundational documents, meeting materials, and subject files covering projects Sheridan Neighborhood Organization undertook such as the Grain Belt Brewery redevelopment, River Run, and the Ritz Theatre restoration. The bulk of materials focus on projects that the neighborhood organization undertook in the late 1990s and early 2000s. View finding aid
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At Home Reader Newsletter – Newsletters created by Hennepin County Library Outreach Services for At Home patrons (Hennepin County residents who cannot get to a library due to illness, disability, or visual impairment). View finding aid
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Community Bookshelf Newsletter – Newsletter or house organ created by Minneapolis Public Library for library patrons from 1922 to 1931. Includes articles on library events, staff, programs, policies, new buildings, and other library news. The end of each issue includes a list of selected new book acquisitions arranged by topic. View finding aid
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Late last year we were asked to participate in a Wikimedia Commons project with the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). To start, DPLA ingested all of our “No Copyright – US” items into Wikimedia Commons—a whopping 329,712 files! Items include mostly pre-1930s photographs, postcards, and cartoons and other later, not copyrighted material, like yearbooks, WWII posters, restaurant menus, maps, and more. The task was then to insert some of our content into Wikipedia articles, with the overall goal of increasing visibility and discovery of digital collections both from DPLA and contributing organizations.
Special Collections staff started adding images to Wikipedia articles in January including pages for the Walker Art Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Richfield, Minnesota, and the Nankin Café, among others. A DPLA bot started inserting images into other pages, like Career Counseling, President William McKinley, and the 1901 eastern United States heat wave. Other Wikipedia contributors have started linking our content too. So far 148 of our images have been used in Wikipedia articles around the world. Later this year, our volunteer Steve will continue the project.
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Saturday, March 15, 10-11:30am, Washburn Library (REGISTRATION FULL)
Saturday, April 5, 10-11:30am, Walker Library
Learn about the historical resources at the library and across the county that will help you piece together a history of your Minneapolis house, neighborhood or property. Special Collections staff will explain and demonstrate resources, emphasizing online resources in the Digital Collections that will allow you to jump-start your research from home – including permit records, maps, city directories, newspapers, photos and more. This class is best suited for researching properties located in the city of Minneapolis, though some county-wide resources will be discussed. Register for the Walker program online
Monday, April 28, 10-11am, Minneapolis Central Library (Registration opens March 10)
Minneapolis Central Library is home to one of the area’s best local history archives. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Special Collections to see how archives are processed and stored, how material is digitized, and how local history is preserved and made accessible both on site and online. Collaborator: Minneapolis Community Education, Lifelong Learning 55+ Programs. Register online starting March 10
Wednesday, April 30, 1:30-3:30pm, Edina Library
Learn how to archive, organize, and preserve the records of your organization or group for the future. Led by the Hennepin County Library Special Collections archivist, this class is designed for staff and volunteers from any type of community group and anyone who has an interest in preserving local history. Leave class knowing how to store and preserve documents, photos, digital files, recordings, and more, and be prepared to organize your group's history. Register online
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Find Special Collections exhibits at many of our libraries in March and April:
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The Art of Marbled Paper at Pierre Bottineau Library, through April 4
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Artists’ Books from the Collection at Linden Hills Library, through March 27
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Humans of Minneapolis Photographs at Golden Valley Library, through March 30
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Then and Now: A Look at Local LGBTQ+ History and Our Community Today at North Regional Library, through April 3
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Artists’ books featuring letterpress printing at Eden Prairie Library, March 16-April 30
Photo: Part of the Marbled paper exhibit at Pierre Bottineau Library
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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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