Minnesota Archives and Libraries: Difference between revisions

{{TOCright}}Many archives and libraries have resources such as maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids to help you locate information about Minnesota. They may have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies. Many have record-finding aids such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state.  

 

 

 

*Minnesota Historical Society. ''Genealogical Resources of the Minnesota Historical Society: A Guide''. 2nd ed. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1993. (Family History Library {{FHL|682510|title-id|disp=book 977.6 A3mh 1993}}.)

 

 

*Minnesota Historical Society. ''Guide to the Personal Papers in the Manuscript Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society''. Three Volumes. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1935, 1955, 1977. (Family History Library {{FHL|140599|title-id|disp=book 977.6 A3m}}.) Lists the time period covered and a brief description of what is included, such as newspaper clippings, diaries, scrapbooks, and genealogical data.

 

 

 

 

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*Fogerty, James E., comp. ''Manuscripts Collections of the Minnesota Regional Research Centers: Guide Number 2''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society, 1980. (Family History Library {{FHL|140553|title-id|disp=book 977.6 A3f no.2}}.) This follows the same format as the Preliminary Guide cited above. It includes new holdings and collections that may have been moved.

The centers are listed below with the counties they cover. Call them for their hours, which vary from center to center, and to see what collections they may have.  

This center serves the counties of Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec. Mille Lacs, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, and Wright.  

'''North Central Minnesota Historical Center'''  

'''Northeast Minnesota Historical Center'''<br>University of Minnesota-Duluth<br>Library 375<br>Duluth, MN 55812<br>Telephone: 218-726-8526<br>Internet e-mail: [mailto:pmaus@d.umn.edu pmaus@d.umn.edu]

This center serves the counties of Carlton, Cook, Lake, and St. Louis. It is a manuscript repository with organizational, business, and family papers and records; maps; architectural drawings; and photo collections. It is also a publication library with at least 10,000 books and pamphlets, many of which are out of print. The center is not rich in genealogical material but works as a network with other repositories in the area that have genealogical material. For a guide to their collection see:

Northeast Minnesota Historical Center (Duluth, Minnesota). ''Guide to the Collections of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center''. Duluth, Minnesota: University of Minnesota and St. Louis County Historical Society, 1988. (Family History Library {{FHL|439727|title-id|disp=book 977.6 A1 no.57.)}}

'''Northwest Minnesota Historical Center'''<br>Livingston Lord Library<br>Moorhead State University<br>Moorhead, MN 56563<br>Telephone: 218-236-2345<br>Fax: 218-299-5924<br>Internet:&nbsp;[http://web.mnstate.edu/archives/NorthwestMN/ http://web.mnstate.edu/archives/NorthwestMN/]<br>

This center serves the counties of Becker, Clay, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, and Wilkin. For a guide to their collection see:

Northwest Minnesota Historical Center (Moorhead, Minnesota). ''Guide to the Northwest Minnesota Historical Center Collections''. Moorhead, Minnesota: Livingston Lord Library, Moorhead State University, 1988. (Family History Library {{FHL|439736|title-id|disp=book 977.6 A1 no.58}}.)

The collection of this discontinued center was divided among the historical societies of the counties it served and the Minnesota Historical Society. The collection included materials about the counties of Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, and Winona.  

'''Southern Minnesota Historical Center'''<br>Minnesota State University, Mankato <br>Mankato, MN 56001<br>Telephone: 507-389-1029 <br>Internet: http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/

This center serves the counties of Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Freeborn, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Rice, Sibley, Steele, Waseca, and Watonwan.  

'''Southwest Minnesota Historical Center'''<br>Southwest State University<br>Social Science 141<br>Marshall, MN 56258<br>Telephone: 507-537-7373<br>Fax: 507-537-7154 <br>Internet: http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/mho/regcent.html

This center is very active in the genealogical community and has a great genealogical collection. It has some county and local government records that would normally go to the Minnesota Historical Society. It serves the counties of Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, and Yellow Medicine.  

'''West Central Minnesota Historical Center'''<br>University of Minnesota–Morris<br>600 East 4th Street<br>Morris, MN 56267<br>Telephone: 320-589-6183<br>Fax: 320-589-6117<br>E-mail Address: [mailto:ahernwh@mrs.umn.edu ahernwh@mrs.umn.edu] <br>Internet: http://www.mrs.umn.edu/academic/history/wchrc/  

This center serves the counties of Big Stone, Chippewa, Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens, Swift, and Traverse.  

[http://www.mnpals.net/F?RN=771285104&func=file&file_name=basic http://www.mnpals.net/F?RN=771285104&amp;func=file&amp;file_name=basic]

WebPals is an Internet site that provides access to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Statewide Automated Library System (MnSCU/PALS). Scores of academic and special libraries throughout the state are part of this system. Library catalogs identifying artifacts and printed materials may be searched at no charge. Additional resources in the catalog include: Civil War veteran card index, Minnesota alien registration card index, Minnesota biography file, photographs, and a Minneapolis newspaper index. There are also several subscription databases on the system. Not all materials are indexed online.  

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Statewide Automated Library System. "MnPals." [Internet online catalog]. St. Paul, Minnesota: MSCU/PALS, 23 July 1998 [cited 16 November 1999]. The catalog can be searched at [http://www.mnhs.org/library/search/index.html www.mnhs.org/library/search/index.html] .  

'''Minnesota Discovery Center<br>'''Highway 169 West<br>P. O. Box 392<br>Chisholm, MN 55719<br>Telephone: 1-800-372-6437<br>Fax: 218-254-5235<br>Internet:&nbsp;[http://mndiscoverycenter.com/ http://mndiscoverycenter.com/]

The Immigration History Research Center’s collection is national in scope but includes immigration to Minnesota. The immigrants are from central, eastern, and southern European countries. A majority of their records are in a foreign language. For a guide to their collection see:

University of Minnesota. Immigration History Research Center. ''The Immigration History Research Center: A Guide to Collections''. New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 1991. (Family History Library {{FHL|617980|title-id|disp=book 977.658 A3i}}.) Summary of the archival and library holdings. The purpose of this guide is to assist researchers in determining the usefulness of the collection and to explain the procedure for gaining access to records.  

'''National Archives Central Plains Region (Kansas City)<br>'''2306 East Bannister Road<br>Kansas City, MO 64131<br>Telephone: 816-926-7271<br>Fax: 816-926-6235<br>Internet: http://www.archives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city/

'''[[National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago)|National Archives Great Lakes Region (Chicago)]]<br>'''7358 South Pulaski Road<br>Chicago, IL 60629<br>Telephone: 773-581-7816<br>Fax: 312-886-7883<br>Internet:&nbsp;[http://www.archives.gov/great-lakes/ www.archives.gov/great-lakes/]  

(Call in advance to reserve microfilm reader.)

'''[[National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver)|National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver)]]<br>'''Denver Federal Center Building 48<br>P.O. Box 25307<br>Denver, CO 80225-0307<br>Telephone: 303-407-5700<br>Fax: 303-407-5707<br>http://www.archives.gov/rocky-mountain/  

=== '''Minnesota Genealogical Society'''  ===

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Historical Records Survey produced 40 inventories of Minnesota county archives. Though the inventories are outdated in many ways, you can use them to learn more about the history, record-keeping systems, and available records of Minnesota counties. The inventories are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Library [https://familysearch.org/catalog-search Catalog] under:

MINNESOTA, [COUNTY] – ARCHIVES AND LIBRARY – INVENTORIES, REGISTERS, CATALOGS

 

{{Click|Image:MN_ORP.png|Minnesota Online Genealogy Records|left}}{{DCfollowup}}<br><br>  

You can find computerized research tips and information about ancestors from Minnesota in a variety of sources at local, state, national, and international levels, and the list of sources is growing rapidly. Most of the information is available at no cost. Addresses on the Internet change frequently. The following sites are important gateways linking you to many more sites:

[http://www.sync2it.com/details/1414171e17211c1a1f www.sync2it.com/details]<br><br>