Dave Paulson joined Minitex staff as a student in 1973. Throughout his career at Minitex, he has worked in nearly every campus library at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Today he is the Resource Sharing Manager who oversees retrieval at our campus libraries.
In this interview, Dave talks about what the work in Resource Sharing was like in the early days, the staff softball team, and how Minitex electronic delivery got started. This interview also includes an audio recording, recording table of contents, transcript, and photograph of the interviewee.
Roger Sween began his professional library career in Wisconsin at UW-Platteville before moving back to Minnesota in the mid-1970s. He worked at Red Wing Public Library and St. Cloud State University Library before he joined State Library Services, Minnesota Department of Education as library cooperation specialist from 1984-2000.
In the interview Roger Sween talks about his first library job as a student working in Rolvaag Memorial Library at St. Olaf; events in Minnesota that led to the development of Minitex; evolution of the multicounty, multitype library systems in Minnesota; his work with the Minnesota Educational Media Organization (MEMO) and creation of the first school library media standards (2000) in the state; and involvement in a 1984 report on economic vitality that resulted in the theme of the American Library Association Annual Conference and the Minnesota Library Annual Conference. This interview also includes an audio recording, recording table of contents, transcript, and photograph of the interviewee.
Keith Ewing, Coordinator of Library Systems & Digital Services at St. Cloud State University, retired in July 2017. Graduating with an MLS in 1979 from University of Texas at Austin, Ewing went on to work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business Administration, and in system and digital services roles at St. Cloud State University. In his interview, Keith disccusses internet and digital library technology in libraries, the inception of the Minnesota Digital Library, work on the first Minitex MEIR task force, the building of a new library at St. Cloud State University, mentors, and dinner with Ray Bradbury. This interview includes an audio recording and full transcript.
Cecelia Boone began her career at University of Minnesota Libraries in the Social Welfare History Archives (June 1976-1978). There, she was a writer and editor on a project called the Women's History Sources Survey before joining Minitex and the MULS program in 1978. In her interview, she describes the MULS service and how it operated in the 1970s and 1980s; hand-writing library holdings data; typing up and storing the holdings data in the homegrown database at the University of Minnesota; supervising and working with student staff; the migration of the MULS records from the database to OCLC WorldCat in 1987 and 1988, and her experience working with Alice Wilcox (Minitex Director, 1969-1982). This interview also includes an audio recording, recording table of contents, transcript, and photograph of the interviewee.
Mary Rae Oxborrow was one of the first full-time professional staff to be hired at Minitex in 1969. In the interview she describes what is was like to work with Minitex's first director, Alice Wilcox; her main role at Minitex in bibliographic problem solving; a Halloween South Dakota trip gone bad on Needles Highway near Rapid City; early technology used at Minitex for sending interlibrary loan requests (for example, teletype machines); staff parties; Minitex office locations during the pilot project and beyond; and the first Minitex logo, the winged messenger. This interview also includes an audio recording, recording table of contents, transcript, and photograph of the interviewee.
Mark Eckes worked at Minitex from 1974 to 1984, when Minitex was just three years in to the program. He managed the Minitex staff (payroll, vacation, sick leave) and was responsible for office purchasing and OCLC billing. In his interview, he describes early technology used at Minitex for processing interlibrary loan requests, such as the TWX machine, and Minitex's first computer. Other topics discussed include the Minitex traveling slideshow, what it was like to work with Alice Wilcox (the first Minitex director), and the Minitex tennis and softball team. This interview also includes an audio recording, recording table of contents, transcript, and photograph of the interviewee.
A reproduction of a slide show and audio cassette created in the 1970's to educate library staff and to promote Minitex services. As part of the Minitex 50th Anniversary, the video was edited in 2021 by Carol Nelson with assistance from former Minitex staff Kathy Drozd, Dave Paulson, and Mark Eckes. Topics in the presentation include: Minitex resource sharing among libraries, the Minitex Union List of Serials, the technology used to communicate between libraries for resource sharing, the Minitex Reference and Information Network, Minitex workshops and training sessions, and how Minitex was initially funded.
A gift to the Minitex staff in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the funding of Minitex in 1971. The custom created Minitex crowler was made at Bent Paddle Brewing in Duluth, Minnesota.
Valerie Horton retired from her position as the director of Minitex in 2019. In this interview, she discusses her professional career beginning as a systems librarian at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She also worked as a systems librarian at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces and in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago assisting with early library automation. Her career highlights included serving as library director at Colorado Mesa University, Colorado Library Consortium, and Minitex (2014-2019). Horton discusses some initiatives from her time at Minitex, including the Minnesota Digital Library, Ebooks Minnesota, SimplyE, and the Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project.
This issue includes a diagram of the program, services, resources, and participating libraries. Each Minitex service is highlighted including the following: Communication Network, Document Delivery, Bibliographic Database, Collection Development, Information and Reference Network, Continuing Education, Online Bibliographic Searches, and Regional Sharing. Future plans for Minitex and participating library contacts are also included.
This issue includes the following articles: Bush Foundation Grants Funds for On-Line Cataloging and Data Base Development; Proposed Copyright Clearance Procedures for Photocopying in Libraries; New Librarians -- New Participants; New Minitex Directory, Annual Report; Reference and Interlibrary Loan Resources; Regional Meetings; Cataloging: Projections for the Future; Minitex Libraries on OCLC: A Directory; Recent Visitors to Minitex; New Edition of MULS, and On-Line User Workshops.
This issue includes the following articles: OCLC Users Council; Minitex Brochure insert; Minitex Annual Meeting; OCLC Interlibrary Loan Subsystem Test; Serials Management Workshop; Farewell to Lois Upham; USOE Grant Deadlines; Academic Library Grant Program Announced; Positions (new library staff); Honors; Minitex Libraries on OCLC: A Directory; Minitex 'NLOC' Service; OCLC Codes for Minitex Libraries; Using OCLC to Verify Minitex ILL Requests; Directory of Minnesota Libraries; and Colleagues Publish.
This issue includes the following articles: To Network or Not to Network Schools Face the Question; Networking Conference; Library Instruction for the College Undergraduate; Selective Bibliography for Library Instruction in Academe; Retrospective Conversion; OCLC/ILL Subsystem Training; EDUCOM Seminar; Rug Reference Resources Meeting; Automation, Codes and Standards in Technical Services and their Effect on Public Services; AACR2 Preconference; Theological Libraries Meeting; People in Minitex.
This special issue on AACR2 and the catalog includes information about the adoption of AACR2 and implications for cataloging procedures and practices. Minnesota librarians attended an institute in 1978 on "Closing the Catalog"; offered by LITA and a full summary of the event is included. This issue also contains a list of recently announced grants, RLIN (Research Libraries Group) replacing the former acronym of BALLOTS, and the new publication "The Role of the School Library Media Program in Networking."
This issue includes the following articles: Gustavus Library Endowment Fund; OCLC Internetwork Quality Control Council; Minnesota Theological Librarys Install Union COM Catalog; Plans Advance For Second ACRL Conference; The Tri-College University Library Consortium: A Decade of Growth; Minitex Reference; The CLIC COM Catalog; Windows to the Past: Minnesota County Atlases-A New Reference Tool; Reorganization of OCLC Symbol Displays; People; Minitex Library OCLC Sympols: A Directory; Olson Receives Piercy Award; Messenger Editor Leaves Minitex.
This issue includes the following articles: Resource Sharing and Interlibrary Loan; Minitex Document Delivery; Minitex Document Delivery Statistics 1978/79; WHCLIS Resolution on Networking; ALA Legislative Program; Reference Librarians: Save These Dates; Online Skills Development; Online Workshops Schedule; OCLC Acquisitions Subsystem; Ramsey County to Test OCLC Acquisitions Subsystem; Recommendation on use of OCLC-MARC Tapes; Iowa Fifth State in MULS.
This issue includes the following articles: Bibliographic Instruction (proceedings from a workshop); COM Catalogs and Conversion Projects (from Ramsey County Public Library and Minneapolis Public Library); People; Minitex Workshop Speaker Participation Policy; Minitex/OCLC Mailings; Circulation Systems: Suggested Reading; A Circulation System With OCLC; OCLC Use in Minitex: Some Thoughts and Statistics; Minitex Courier; Regional Workshops for Catalogers: AACR2; New MULS Manual.
This is a special report of the OCLC Users Council by Minitex OCLC Representatives. Included are summaries on the economic impact of AACR2 on libraries and the OCLC Inter-Network Quality Control Council, as well a a directory of Minitex libraries on OCLC.
This special issue on online databases includes information about the types of data in databases, online database searching protocols, online search services in the U.S. and costs, a glossary of common database terms, a bibliography of online bibliographic services, the Minitex online search service and sample search request form, a directory of online database, subject databases search in Minitex libraries, and a summary of the Reference Users Group meeting.
This issue includes the following articles: Serials Collections in a Network Environment; OCLC Converts Data Base to AACR 2 Form; Quality Control Activities at OCLC; MPR Programs Available From Audio Archives; New Duluth Public Library Open; People/Minitex Directory; Serial Collection Management: A Bibliography.
This issue includes the following articles: Bibliographic and Physical Resource Sharing in Minitex; Access to Minitex Libraries in Bibliographic Databases; Libraries and the 1980 Census; Minitex OCLC AACR2 Regional Meetings; OCLC'S Name-Address Directory; Minitex at Texas Instruments Symposium; Ramsey County Begins OCLC Acquisitions Subsystem Evaluation; ARL Adopts Plan for Improving Access to Microforms; Database Workshops; People; Minitex Directory Changes; Minnesota Statutes Index Errata Available; Everyone's Guide to the Whole Library.
This issue includes the following articles: Minitex-South Dakota Resource Sharing; Minnesota Libraries 1977 Report (for the ALA Yearbook, 1978 edition); Upcoming User Group Meetings; Library Directories; OCLC Governance; Bush II OCLC Installations; OCLC Directory Update; OCLC Training; Publications; TWX Communication; Verifying Citations from On-Line Searches; New Appointments--New Participants; Visitors to Minitex; Newsletter Mailing List; and CAB Abstracts On-Line Workshop.
This special issue on copyright includes information about how the new U.S. Copyright Law affects Minitex Document Delivery, guidelines for records retention, information on library supplies for displaying copyright information, ALA and Minitex Interlibrary Loan Request forms, copyright payment mechanisms, and a bibliogrpahy of copyright law and libraries resources.
This issue includes information about the Minitex Continuing Education Program and week-long workshops for Reference Librarians, an overview of the newly initiated Minitex Reference Service, and an overview of the Minnesota Union List of Serials emerging Minitex program.
This issue includes the following articles: Technology, Work Assignments, and Staff Morale; St. Olaf College Part of Two Studies; Saint Paul Public Library's Newspaper Index Project; Symposium on the Future of the Liberal Arts College Library; Melsa Goes Online: Hennepin County's Assisted Reference Service; Thoughts on Resource Sharing; People; Celebrations; Reading on Networking; Online Bibliographic Training in Fargo; AACR2 Institute in Minneapolis; New Minitex Staff Member; Announcement of Minitex Position; OCLC Growth.
