Long overdue tour recap!
Apologies for the late tour recap - especially since it was a wonderful evening!
On October 15, after several of us shared a happy hour snack downtown, about 15 librarians and library students gathered at Hennepin County Library's Central Library in Minneapolis for a tour of the special collections there.
We started with Marcelyn Sletten in the Milestones Collection, part of the childrens' library. The collection includes award winners, local authors, and other noteworthy books and related objects. Marcelyn described her experiences with children in this room, including several funny and touching stories about children who responded to the items in the room (such as an international collection of Cinderella stories). After Marcelyn talked, we took some time to explore the collection ourselves. Everyone spotted something that provoked a memory of his or her own childhood, or of time spent with children, and the room was filled with excited exclamations.
Once we were able to tear ourselves away from the fun in the Milestones collection, we went upstairs with Special Collections librarian Heather Lawton to see the rest of the special collections. Many attendees were especially impressed by seeing the vault (and the security on it), where especially valuable or fragile items are stored, including a huge Audobon book. That book was one of many we saw with incredibly impressive illustrations. In the Athenaeum room, we also saw old Minneapolis high school yearbooks (including those of local celebrities Prince and Josh Hartnett - frequently requested by library visitors!).
It was a wonderful tour, and the librarians were extremely generous with sharing stories and information about the collections. Call one up if you want to see these fun and unusual items!
Many thanks to Heather, Marcelyn, and all those who attended.
-Liz
On October 15, after several of us shared a happy hour snack downtown, about 15 librarians and library students gathered at Hennepin County Library's Central Library in Minneapolis for a tour of the special collections there.
We started with Marcelyn Sletten in the Milestones Collection, part of the childrens' library. The collection includes award winners, local authors, and other noteworthy books and related objects. Marcelyn described her experiences with children in this room, including several funny and touching stories about children who responded to the items in the room (such as an international collection of Cinderella stories). After Marcelyn talked, we took some time to explore the collection ourselves. Everyone spotted something that provoked a memory of his or her own childhood, or of time spent with children, and the room was filled with excited exclamations.
Once we were able to tear ourselves away from the fun in the Milestones collection, we went upstairs with Special Collections librarian Heather Lawton to see the rest of the special collections. Many attendees were especially impressed by seeing the vault (and the security on it), where especially valuable or fragile items are stored, including a huge Audobon book. That book was one of many we saw with incredibly impressive illustrations. In the Athenaeum room, we also saw old Minneapolis high school yearbooks (including those of local celebrities Prince and Josh Hartnett - frequently requested by library visitors!).
It was a wonderful tour, and the librarians were extremely generous with sharing stories and information about the collections. Call one up if you want to see these fun and unusual items!
Many thanks to Heather, Marcelyn, and all those who attended.
-Liz
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