Recap: Tour of the MHS Library

Last night the St. Kate's SLA Student Group, in partnership with CALCO, hosted a tour of the library at the Minnesota History Center.

Librarian Brigid Shields took us on a whirlwind tour of the library, showing us the books, inventories and microfilms in the library's reading rooms, and also the underground storage areas. Tour attendees were astounded by the sheer volume in these dim, climate controlled rooms: room underneath room of stacks, and football field sized areas of shelves - and yet, like many libraries, space is running out to house the collections.

We got the basics on the most popular reasons people use the library's resources: you can do research on your family (including birth, death, and immigration records), house history (try searching: college st catherine - no CdC in the 1920's!), and various topics in Minnesota history.

Tour attendees included 12 MLIS students, 2 alumnae, 12 librarians (including representatives from 4 CALCO libraries), and even 2 prospective MLIS students. It seems likely that many of us will be back - seeing all the library has to offer was an inspiration to learn more about our families and our state!

Sincere thanks to:
Dru Frykberg (DEED Library) and CALCO for approaching the student group to set up a tour, sponsoring the event, and providing snacks!
Brigid Shields for doing a wonderful tour and packing so much in!

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