Guys Read at the Library — and Wherever

Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, offers a chance to poke around to discover some of what’s happening in the wonderful world of books for children..  The answer is LOTS is happening and a week offers a mere glimpse of some samples.

Guys Read in Hennepin County Library is one of scores of reading promotion initiatives sponsored by area libraries.  The HCL site is part of a national drive initiated by children’s author Jon Scieszka.   Guys Read is designed to draw attention to boys’ literacy and to motivate adults to help boys read more.  Scieszke is the nation’s first children’s laureate, officially called the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Describing the Guys Read program Scieszka writes:

We can help boys read by letting them choose what they read.expanding our definition of “reading” to include nonfiction, graphic novels, comics, comic strips, humor magazines, newspapers, online text, getting boys to recommend reading they do like to other boys, providing boys with male role models for reading in school and at home.

The national Guys Read website offers these and countless other observations about boys’ reading as well as an extensive list of books that boys read and recommend.

The Guys Read program in Hennepin County Library is made possible by the Library Foundation of Hennepin County with support from Best Buy Children’s Foundation and the Ann and Jack Cole Fund.

 

For more information about the forty Guys Read sites in the HCL system check the Library’s website.

 

 

Musician/writer Dylan Hicks and Poet Dobby Gibson at the Northeast Library

Once again the Friends of the Northeast Library will sponsor a very special author talk on Thursday, May 17, 6;30 p.m. at the Library, 2200 Central Avenue Northeast.  The May program is a classic double-header:

Dylan Hicks, is a man of many interests, talents and faces. Readers who know Dylan Hicks are eagerly awaiting his first novel which is set for publication in May by Coffee House Press, a Northeast independent literary force.    Though difficult to categorize, Boarded Windows is already receiving national acclaim.  The novel reflects and spirit of Uptown Minneapolis in the Nineties.

One reviewer, Sam Lipsyte, writes “Do yourself a favor and read this smart, tender book.  The characters will  haunt you with their longing, and inspire you with their sweet, caustic wit.  Dylan Hicks knows his music and his prose is a song in itself.  He’s given light to the shuttered and boarded parts of life.”

The theme of the novel comes as no surprise to the many locals who know Hicks as a songwriter and musician. Earlier this year he released his first album in ten years. The book includes a free download of Sings Bolling Green, a soundtrack to the novel written and performed by Dylan Hicks himself.

Followers of popular culture know that in the past several years Hicks has melded his writing and musical talents as a prodigious writer.   He’s a familiar name as contributor to City Pages, a position he left to focus on Boarded Windows.

A search of the web discloses some intriguing information about Dylan Hicks’ life and interests.  His own website contains a forthright author statement that reveals much about Boarded Windows.  A lengthy conversation  with his colleague Brad Zellar goes into real depth about writing and music.  Zellar concludes with an intriguing observation that “there’s no Minneapolis novel.   Boarded Windows, Zellar writes “is the first book that I can think of that’s really steeped in Minneapolis, that really gets it.”  A question the author may address at the Friends program….

Joining Dylan Hicks on the program is Minnesota poet Dobby Gibson who will discuss his new collection It Becomes You, forthcoming from another independent press Graywolf Press in 2013.  The collection of poems is described as “meditative, lyrical, aphoristic, and always leavened with a wry wit.  The reviewer writes that “through Dobby Gibson’s poems you explore the divergent conditions by which we’re perpetually defined—the daily weather, the fluctuations of the Dow, the growth of a cancer cell, the politics of the day.”

Dobby Gibson’s first book of poetry, Polar, published in 2004, received the Beatrice Award and was a finalist for the 2006 Minnesota Book Award.  He is also the author of a second collection of poetry, Skirmish, published in 2009 by Graywolf Press.

Again, a web search will discover several interviews with Dobby Gibson, reviews and readings of his works of poetry.

The Friends of the Library programs are all free and open to the public.

Kudos to the MnDOT Library!

When Minnesotans think of transportation we are inclined to think about highways, bridge safety, LRT, buses, Lexus lanes and potholes.  The work of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)  and its network of regional outlets is behind the scenes.  And behind all that is the MnDOT library, 395 John Ireland Boulevard, a bustling hub of information housed at the MnDOT  building near the Capitol – a mighty little librry that opens the world of transportation-related data, research, digital archives, journals and more to hundreds of MnDOT employees who are working on a vast range of transportation issues – broadly defined to cover a multitude of topics.

The MnDOT Library is in the spotlight these days for an aggressive action campaign to showcase their resources and services.  One of the most prestigious awards in the library world is the John Cotton Dana award – and the MnDOT Library is a 2012 winner!  No small feat for a modest state agency library pitted again the super stars with gargantuan budgets and legions of professional PR staff.

The national award, to be conferred at the annual conference of the American Library Association, asserts that “the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) created the ‘moving knowledge’ campaign to convey updated space and resources and to improve outreach efforts.  The space redesign transformed the library from a ‘bland government’ look to a warm and inviting environment.

Much of the work on the outreach campaign was conducted by consultant organizations including Law Library Consultants, Kathleen Bedor, President, and Modern Design Group, Chris Foote President and Diane Foote Design Associates.

This is not the first award for the redesigned MnDOT library.   First, the library received an Award of Merit from the Minnesota Association. of Government Communicators.  That started the ball rolling – the next award was the 2011 Innovation in Action award from the Minnesota Chapter of the Special Libraries Association.

The MnDOT Library is sponsoring an open house and reception on Thursday, May 3, 10:00 AM-3:00 p.m.  Free and open to the public .  Contact the Library at library.dot@state.mn.us.

Celebrating the Givens Collection of African American Literature

As previous posts suggest, I find myself reflecting evermore on my experience as a novice librarian at District of Columbia Teachers College, a public inner city institution that has long since bit the academic dust.  What remains for me are vibrant images of a profound late 60’s learning opportunity for which I am increasingly grateful.

One poignant memory is of Walter Williams, collection development librarian extraordinaire, and the only man I’ve ever known who could speak fluently with a pencil tucked under his upper lip.

When the demise of DCTC was imminent Mr. Williams fought back by protecting his treasured collection of African American literature.  Experience taught him that these dusty – and presumably irrelevant — tomes would not survive the intrusion of the impending bureaucrats, more interested in efficiency and modernity than in preservation of the literary works of a people.   Day after day Mr. Williams would quietly comb the shelves, then stash the books in a secluded back room where they were relatively safe from the invaders.  I have often wondered if those rare treasures still grace some library’s  shelves and give life to priceless wisdom.

The images, the sounds, even the smells of those late 60’s days have filled my mind these past days since video producer Dan Bergin of TPT thoughtfully emailed me a link to his 1998 documentary on the Archie Givens Collection, a jewel in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Though I’ve known about the Givens Collection, my ongoing quest to learn more about the literary and film legacy of Oscar Micheaux Legacy has led me to more intensive research.   What I had failed to understand was the depth of the collection.   The documentary offers a beautiful depiction of the Givens Collection as an entry point to  our African American literary legacy as well as a context that places  Micheaux, the Givens Collection and Mr. Williams’ work in context.

Mesmerized by the hour-long documentary, my thought now is to share the experience with others who, like me, reach for a focus to reflect on the passion of African American writers, from Frederick Douglass to Walter Mosely who, incidentally, will  be spending time this month  in this community.

My hope is that readers will take time to engage in the documentary as background to enriching the array of opportunities that are exploding in this community.   Of special interest are the Givens Black Books series, Penumbra Theatre’s series on Reshaping the Black Image on the American Stage, the rich agenda of reading and book groups in libraries, more inclusive curricula in schools and colleges, the  Minnesota African American Museum and Cultural Center and the enduring strength of the Givens collection.

So much to learn, so much to celebrate.   Decades after his heroic efforts, Walter B. Williams is smiling, a feat which he alone could accomplish with a pencil securely clutched under his upper lip.  I deeply hope the treasures he secured are intact – if not physically in some digital form that would have blown his beautiful mind.

Library Exhibits Novels that Recall Tumultuous 60′s -

Library exhibits, created with care and experience by anonymous staff and volunteers eager to share the shelves of treasures with a passing public, are the tip of the literary iceberg – and a trigger to the reader of a title long forgotten or the hottest off the presses.  They often guide the visitor to untapped resources such as public programs – or that dusty novel languishing in the closed stacks.  Most of all, exhibits are well worth taking a few minutes to pause and peruse as regular library visitors are more than likely to do.

For ages I’ve intended to write about the excellent exhibits at the Minneapolis Central Library, a place I visit on a regular basis.  When I take the time to spend some time with those great exhibits, I’m always rewarded.

The 1968 exhibit at the Minnesota History Center has inclined many of us to think more about just what was happening during the decade of the 60’s.   Regular exhibit creator, Ruthann Ovenshire, a lifelong librarian and volunteer, has seized the opportunity to dig deep into her own voracious reading past.   Ruthann is responsible for the fiction exhibits on the first floor of the Central Library.  ( Exhibits on floors two through four are non-fiction oriented selections that reflect the collections located on those floors.)

As she always does, Ruthann has carefully recorded her selections from the library’s collection.  Now, with some prodding, she has complemented the collection of books on display with a digital reading list that reflects her selections.  I found the list such a grand reminder of a literary era, that I begged a copy for posting on my blog.  In her usual generous way, Ruthann has shared her list for others who may have read these books in their youth and, more perhaps, for younger bibliophiles who missed these treasures the first time around.

Ruthann’s list, designed for browsing, suggests some 1960’s fiction well suited to combing the dusty shelves – at home or at the library – to find just the right read for a snowy evening.  Note that the categories noted here reflect the Minnesota Central Library system where books are organized by genre – different libraries and bookstores will use different systems.

FICTION

The last unicorn / Peter S. Beagle.

Herzog / Saul Bellow

The clown / Heinrich Boll

The little girls / Elizabeth Bowen,

Something wicked this way comes / Ray Bradbury.

Richard Brautigan’s  trout fishing in America / Richard Brautigan

The master and Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov

2001, a space odyssey /  Arthur C. Clarke

Ubik / Philip K. Dick.

The reivers : a reminiscence / William Faulkner.

The magus : a revised version / John Fowles

One hundred years of solitude / Gabriel García Márquez

In the heart of the heart of the country, and other stories / William H. Gass

Catch-22 / Joseph Heller.

Dune / Frank Herbert

We have always lived in the castle / Shirley Jackson

Up the down staircase / , Bel Kaufman

One flew over the cuckoo’s nest / Ken Kesey

Sometimes a great notion / Ken Kesey

Flowers for Algernon, / by Daniel Keyes.

The spy who came in from the cold / John Le Carré

To kill a mockingbird / Harper Lee

The golden notebook / Doris Lessing

Rosemary’s baby / Ira Levin

The fortunes of war : the Balkan trilogy / Olivia Manning

The last picture show / Larry McMurtry

Ada; or, Ardor: a family chronicle / Vladimir Nabokov

Pale fire / Vladimir Nabokov

A house for Mr. Biswas / V.S. Naipaul.

The third policeman : a novel / Flann O’Brien

Everything that rises must converge /Flannery O’Connor

The bell jar / Sylvia Plath

Ship of fools / Katherine Anne Porter,

The chosen / Chaim Potok.

The godfather / Mario Puzo

The bull from the sea / Mary Renault.

Wide Sargasso Sea / Jean Rhys

Portnoy’s complaint / Philip Roth

Franny and Zooey / J.D. Salinger

Raise high the roof beam, carpenters : and Seymour / J. D. Salinger.

The jewel in the crown; a novel / Paul Scott

Last exit to Brooklyn / Hubert Selby, Jr.

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich / Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The girls of slender means / Muriel Spark

The only problem / Muriel Spark

The prime of Miss Jean Brodie / Muriel Spark

The winter of our discontent / John Steinbeck

The confessions of Nat Turner / William Styron

Valley of the dolls : a novel /  Jacqueline Susann

Rabbit, run / John Updike.

Cat’s cradle / Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Slaughterhouse-five, or, The children’s crusade / Kurt Vonnegut.

The graduate / Charles Webb.

Riders in the chariot / Patrick White

SCIENCE FICTION

The drowned world / J.G. Ballard

The Andromeda strain / Michael Crichton

Stranger in a strange land / Robert A. Heinlein.

The left hand of darkness / Ursula K. Le Guin

A canticle for Leibowitz / Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Lord of light / Roger Zelazny 1979.

MYSTERY

Call for the dead / John le Carré

STACKS

The moon is a harsh mistress / Robert A. Heinlein.

Good times/bad times; a novel / James Kirkwood

A jest of God /  , Margaret Laurence

The nice and the good / Iris Murdoch

The lonely girl / Edna O’Brien

The group / Mary McCarthy

Joy in the morning / Betty  Smith

The interpreters / Wole Soyinka

The driver’s seat / Muriel Spark

If this is not enough to whet your literary appetite Ruthann also suggests some of the resources she has found that helped her scan the 60’s fiction that may be gone from the Hennepin County Library stacks but that live on through other sources.

Best Books of the Decade, 1960’s

Goodreads

The Modern Library, the 200 best novels in English Since 1950

 

“Text Us” at the Hennepin County Library

Though I have it on good authority that this service is well advertised in Hennepin County Libraries, it occurs to me that the people who might want to use the service are likely to not be in the library but at a coffee shop somewhere.  For the past couple of months Hennepin County Library has been accepting texted questions at the Ask Us information service.

 

Library users with a mobile device should  text “hclib” to 66746 for instructions.  Library users may also access the Ask Us information service by Instant Messaging.

 

HCL also offers a free mobile application for easier access to Ask Us.  The Ask Us service is free, though standard message and data rates do apply.  Ask Us is available Monday–Thursday 9-7 and Friday 9-5.

 

According to Library Director Lois Langer Thompson, the service “isn’t only for reference questions.  Patrons can ask us what they need to ask whether it is for information, or about their library account, or anything else.  Society has become must more mobile, and communicating with our patrons by texting is a response eto that growing trend.”

 

Libraries Invest Legacy Funds to Share Stories and Build Community

The other shoe has fallen and my wrath has erupted.  I knew it was coming, that the tapping the Legacy funds, once a mere gleam in a legislator’s eye, would focus, then hone in on the vulnerable funds, those reserved for arts and cultural activities.  When the Legislature passed the Arts and Cultural Heritage pot in 2008 it was an organized arts community, not the Legislature’s deep  commitment to arts and culture, that authorized minimal support, under 20% of the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, for arts and cultural activities.  It is also worthy of note that the fund itself is just .8 of 1% of the state’s sales tax.

The breakdown of allocated funds, as passed by the Legislature, looks like this:

33 percent to a clean water fund,
33 percent to an outdoor heritage fund,
14.25 percent to a parks and trails fund, and
19.75 percent to an arts and cultural heritage fund

For starts, I don’t see how that’s going to lure Ziggy when he’s obviously out for land development and not so much for the arts and culture….

More important, too little attention has been paid to the profound impact that the Cultural Heritage funds have had.  Because one is advised to write what one knows, and what I do know something about, is libraries.  During 2010 and 2011 public libraries in Minnesota received $4,250,000  in Arts and Cultural Heritage Funds.  Those funds were expended by the regional systems, passed down to or received directly by local libraries to implement programs and enhance resources.  Library-designated funds have also been spent by state agencies, particularly the Minnesota Historical Society which has established a working partnership with the Council of Regional Public Library Systems to collaborate on specific Legacy funded projects.  The expenditures and program descriptions, through 2010, are listed and described in detail on the Legacy website.

Libraries, particularly libraries in small towns and communities, operate on a shoestring, often dependent on volunteers and Friends, always trying to hold their own on the budget of municipalities and counties that are pulled from every direction.

The more salient fact is that those same libraries are preservers of the community’s culture, responsible for tending the record, reaching out and for assuring that those who care about their history have access to the stories.  Libraries also provide a sort of arts and culture lifeline for the communities they serve.  They have space for meetings, staff and volunteers who are in touch with learning opportunities, means to promote, interpret and focus on public events.

Statewide Legacy funds have funded an amazing mix of library programs including the very popular event and museum passes and bus trips, author visits ranging from Alison McGhee to Barton Sutter and a host of other, folk dance,  a celebration of National Poetry Month and dozens of other initiatives that highlights the arts, local history and the stories and activities that build a community.

When I asked for stories of what’s happened with Legacy funds in the metro area I received some great stories.  This report submitted by Anoka County Library is so local and so timely it serves as a great sample of what a small grant can unleash when energetic folks make connections to improve access for the public served by the local library:

Once again ACL has collaborated with the Coon Rapids Senior Center to provide seniors and their grandchildren with a Legacy program over MEA break. 45 people attended the program at the Senior Center last Friday, 30 seniors and 15 of their grandchildren. The program was Ghosts of Anoka County and was presented by Sarah Given, from the Anoka County Historical Society. ACL sponsored the program using our Legacy funding.

Many of the seniors attending the program used walkers. One of the ladies using a walker made it a point to thank the library for providing the program at the Senior Center. She had always wanted to go on the Ghost Walk in Anoka, but wasn’t able to handle the distance. She couldn’t believe she could finally take the tour—virtually! She really enjoyed the program as did the rest of the audience. The history program was 80 minutes long but the children stayed attentive and many adults stayed after the program to talk about their “ghostly” adventures. Personally, I was intrigued by the local Anoka history that was mixed in with ghost stories. I can’t wait to go the 7^th floor of the government center for an aerial view of City Hall—I had no idea the building is shaped like a handgun and I want proof!

This has been a valuable collaboration for the library. One of our goals for our Legacy funding projects was to bring our Library to unexpected places. Many of the seniors I spoke with at the program were not library users, but they took our hours brochure with them as well as the flyers for the upcoming history programs.

There may seem to be a major stretch between the experience of these Anoka elders and youngsters and the development concerns of one team owner.  It is worth noting, however, that the developer’s eyes are on the very land in which these folks are living, learning and voting.   Granted these people and the Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund are vulnerable, ill-equipped to lobby their concerns in the marble halls and quiet backrooms where lobbyists, financial giants and the political Deciders gather.  I can only hope against hope that the Governor remembers what really matters to many Minnesotans whom he may not know personally but who still matter.

 

 

School Librarians Convene – A Gawker’s Perspective

Lacking “press credentials” was summarily blocked from attending programs at the American Association of School Librarians meeting this weekend at the Convention Center in Minneapolis.  The program, which I did manage to filch, did look excellent – a robust agenda of authors and storytellers, the predictable abundance of sessions on technology, particularly social media and e-books, speakers and panels addressing ethics, standards, reading promotion initiatives, information literacy and much more.  Some little nuggets caught my eye – e.g. “One Book, One Conference, a comprehensive virtual conference with mobile app and tips for attendees on creating a Green Conference.

As a rejected non-attendee I had a great opportunity to observe the hundreds of school librarians and media professionals who filled the meeting rooms, the exhibits and the hallways.  What I observed was an energetic swarm of committed, inquisitive, learning professionals who are meeting the needs of young people in a desperately challenging time.

For example, in most cases, the librarian/media professional is the sole educator in a learning environment that serves an entire school with a rapidly changing mix of traditional and 21^st Century tools – if the librarian is cut, there is no library program.  And library media are vulnerable not because they are inessential but because focus is on student/teacher ratio and desktop learning as opposed to development of independent skills such as information literacy and reading for enrichment.

At the same time, these professionals who are responsible for selecting appropriately materials face a proliferation of format options and, much more important, the imperative to select materials that are culturally appropriate to young learners who come to school from very different environments.

It was clear to me that the educators gathered in Minneapolis are ready to learn and, perhaps more, to share their experiences with colleagues who share the daily challenges each one is facing solo on the front lines.   As a left the conference, clutching my purloined program and my camera I snapped a few more photos that tell the story of the attendees if not so much about the scores of fine presentations I missed – and I was very pleased how my aborted visit to AASL had turned out in the end.

Pillsbury School Readers “Targetted”

Later this week several hundred members of the American Association of School Librarians will be gathering for their annual conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  The program covers the rapidly expanding outpouring of books that depict and reflect the diversity in the schools, improving reading skills, all manner of technology, information literacy and the inexplicable joy of reading and learning.  I hope to spend some time learning myself.

Even more, I wish I could organize a contingent of these learning librarians to visit my nearest school library media center at Pillsbury School, 2250 Garfield Northeast in Windom Park.  Pillsbury is a K-5 school in which some 650 emerging scholars are just becoming acquainted with the richness of their school library media center, recently rehabbed and restocked through the generous financial contribution of Target Corporation, the redesign of a national partner organization, Heart of America,  and the contributed services of scores of Target employees.

In a 2010 talk to Grantmakers in Education Reba Dominski, Target’s Director of Community Relations Education Initiatives, describes her corporation’s broad commitment to reading and literacy, the commitment that led to the grant to Pillsbury.  School Principal Laura Cavender saw a need to revamp the twenty-plus year old library – and she saw the possibility of Pillsbury applying to Target Corporation for funding.

The result was a $200,000 grant that spiffed up the media center and added 21^st Century technology including IPads and computers, new furniture and redesigned reading nooks, and a school-wide buzz about what was happening in the school media center.  Most important, the library collection was the focus of the make-over;  over 2000 new books reflect the time and the student population.

I was fortunate to be on hand September 28 for the Grand Reopening of the Library Media Center – and I was not alone!  Some 175 Target employees who had worked on the project were there to enjoy the fruits of their labors.  Mayor Rybak, Councilman Kevin Reich and Senator Amy Klobuchar stood out in the overwhelming mass of parents and siblings, Pillsbury students, neighbors, teachers and red-shirted Target workers.

One of the most touching aspects of that day was the fact that every child, Pillsbury student or sibling, received a generous stack of age appropriate books – and a canvas bag in which to tote their treasures.  Families in need were also invited to share a plentiful bounty of good food.  These same families will continue to receive food, including fresh produce, throughout the school year.

There were cheers and tears, beaming teachers, proud Target employees and above all young folks reading, showing off their new digs to their friends and families.  This was a day to remember – I replay the event and the idea every time I pass the school.

If the librarians visiting from around the nation – and the readers of this post – don’t have the chance to visit Pillsbury, this video snippet:  http://www.kare11.com/news/article/940125/26/Big-library-makeover-for-Minneapolis-school]

captured by television KARE 11 offers an honest and informative overview of the project, their spirit and energy of the students and volunteers,  and its long term impact on a much deserving school.

Sarah Muench, Pillsbury School librarian, also found time to snap some great photos of appreciative young learners exploring their new media center.

Northern Lights Videos Reflect Minnesota’s Literary Landscape

Every day in libraries, bookstores and living rooms throughout the state Minnesotans gather to pore over books by local authors, books about the state’s history, studies of the land itself, idiosyncrasies of Minnesotans and stories of their unique approach to life. Bibliophiles venture forth on lush summer days and blustery wintry evenings for readings and talks by Minnesota writers and illustrators, those who review Minnesota press, publishers and reviewers. In a word, Minnesota is a state of lifelong readers.

What many folks don’t know is that there is a rich heritage of interviews with Minnesotans who have left their words or continue to write for Minnesota readers. Northern Lights and Insights is a little known collection of videotapes that record interviews with well over 500 Minnesotans with ties to the written world. The videos were produced over a period of thirteen years, first by Hennepin County Library and subsequently by the Minnesota Center for the Book which, during the late 1980’s and 1990’s, was housed at Metronet. As Director of Metronet at that time I was and remain inordinately proud of having had a hand in the production.

Production of the series has ceased, though the need has not. Many of the interviewees have achieved great literary success in the intervening years; sadly, many have died. Over time I have developed an absolute compulsion to assure that those incredible interviews are known by Minnesotans who love the books and who may want to the authors, illustrators and publishers.

This post is a preliminary but determined step aimed at preserving and sharing one of the state’s literary treasures through the best means possible.

All of the Northern Lights videos, in a mix of formats including VHS and Beta, are available at the Minnesota Historical Society Library. With funding from the state Legislature we were able to make videos available through interested regional public library systems in 1999-2000. Many schools include Northern Lights videos in their collections. All of the videos are cataloged in elegant detail and posted on the Web. My fervent hope is that some day, if an appropriate agency or collaborative will take responsibility, this video legacy of Minnesota literature may be streamed on the Web.

Because the project was low key and low budget emphasis was on content, matching interviewees with the right interviewer, assuring that local cable, including the Metro Cable Network, carried the half-hour shows as they were produced. The low tech production involved the writer and willing interviewer (who had read the book) sitting down in a working office. Dave Carlson, a producer who could work video magic without a studio, top of the line technology, or fanfare captured the conversation, then edited the tape for distribution on cable.

In some ways this 20th century effort was a precursor of today’s quick and easy on-site video. Promotion of Northern Lights was far from a realistic possibility for our bootstrap system; having no resources for promotion freed us to focus all of our efforts on seizing the moment and preserving it for posterity.

Some samples of the Northern Lights and Insights offers the a taste of the richness of the video collection. To wit: The series includes interviews with Bill Holm, Robert Bly, Meridel LeSuer, Kate DiCamillo, Eugene McCarthy, John Sandford, Gary Paulsen, Patricia Hampl, Elmer L. Andersen, James Shannon, and some 700 others. Program episode lists can be found on the Minnesota Historical Society website and on the online catalogs of participating public, academic and school libraries through MnLINK . (Search “Northern Lights” and look for video recordings – you will find some entries that include the term but refer to books; just move on to the videos.) Many of the videos are available in several libraries around the state – or patrons may request interlibrary loan at any local library.