About MNopedia

Welcome | We're Growing | Funding | Mission | Timeline | Content | Technology | Credits | Help

Welcome

Welcome to MNopedia (MIN-opedia), an online encyclopedia about Minnesota developed by the Minnesota Historical Society (MHS) and its partners. MNopedia is a free, curated, authoritative resource about Minnesota. All of our articles are prepared for MNopedia by historians, consulting experts, professional writers, and others who have been vetted by the Minnesota Historical Society.

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We're Growing

This is an evolving encyclopedia. The goal is to move toward a fuller complement of content: articles, images, multimedia, and resources.

Let us know what you think! Post your feedback in the MNopedia discussion forum, comment on an article, or contact an editor at mnopediamnhs [dot] org. We need your help to determine what eras and topics to cover next. What's working well? What can we improve? Help us make MNopedia an invaluable A-to-Z resource about Minnesota.

Funding

Who funds MNopedia? Minnesotans! MNopedia is made possible by the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008. Learn more about MHS and Legacy.

Mission

MNopedia's mission is simple: to share current, reliable and relevant information about significant people, places, events and things in Minnesota history. Accomplishing our mission means:

• Collaborating with a variety of expert contributors
• Aligning content with state education standards
• Enlivening entries with images, audio and video
• Developing a user-friendly Web site
• Using the latest tools and technologies
• Continuing to add new entries and resources

Timeline

Phase One: Planning. In 2010, the Minnesota Historical Society met with potential users and contributors to hear their ideas about MNopedia. We consulted with national technology experts and evaluated similar Web resources. Then, we created a detailed work plan and took action.

Phase Two: Building. In 2011, we built MNopedia. It features content from the Minnesota Historical Society and leading Minnesota historians. It is designed so its content can be easily moved, updated, and shared.

Phase Three: Testing—Ongoing. Having completed an initial round of testing, we continue to test and refine this unique resource based on feedback from our users.

Phase Four: Expanding. This is where we are now. We'll continue building on what we've learned from users and expand MNopedia. We'll add new features and consider new ways to deliver content. We'll also explore content partnerships with other organizations, find more experts to contribute, and integrate new articles.

Content

Each essay and entry in MNopedia is a curated package of information that introduces a subject and points to valuable related material. Packages are composed of:

• Narrative Text: Explaining why a subject is significant
• Related Media: Featuring images, audio and video
• Related Articles: Linking to more MNopedia content
• Turning Point/Overview: Summarizing the narrative text
• Chronology: Noting important dates in the text
• Bibliography: Citing sources used to create the text
• Related Resources: Listing additional credible sources

We want you to "do stuff" with MNopedia content: cite it in your research, share it via social media, correct it if necessary, comment on it if desired, and print it for later reference. For now, MNopedia content is limited. Eventually, however, it will cover all of the following and more:

Eras*
Before European Contact: Pre-1585
Colonization and Settlement: 1585-1763
Revolution and a New Nation: 1754-1800
Expansion and Reform: 1792-1861
Civil War and Reconstruction: 1850-1877
Development of an Industrial United States: 1870-1920
Great Depression and World War II: 1920-1945
Post World War II United States: 1945-1989
The United States in a New Global Age: 1980-Present

*MNopedia eras are aligned with the 2011 Minnesota K‐12 Academic Standards in Social Studies

Topics
African Americans
Agriculture
American Indians
Architecture
The Arts
Business and Industry
Cities and Towns
Education
Environment
Health and Medicine
Immigration
Labor
Politics
Religion and Belief
Sports and Recreation
Technology
Transportation
War and Conflict
Women

Categories
Events
Groups
People
Places
Structures
Things

Technology

The Minnesota Historical Society has chosen to put MNopedia content into a flexible, standards-based database that's queryable via API. As a result, MNopedia content eventually can be used beyond this browser-readable Web site—in mobile apps, audience- or situation-specific products, as a component in other Web projects, in print publications, and more, whether these products are created by the Minnesota Historical Society or by other individuals or entities. Here are some of the essential building blocks behind MNopedia at present:

• Database: MySQL
• Metadata Standard: Dublin Core, specifically DCTERMS
• Web Framework and Search: Drupal (Version 7)
• Plugins/Modules: Biblio, Views OAI-PMH, and Workbench
• Geotagging: Addresses and lat/long coordinates, when available
• API: Queryable OAI-PMH feed

Credits

Core Project Team
Ryan Cartwright, Associate Project Editor
Molly Huber, Editor and Project Manager
Morgan L'Argent, Web Developer/Bricoleur
Robin Moir, Digital Production Associate
Jim Ockuly, Web Project Manager
Cassie Potter, Web Designer

Current Interns
Kathryn R. Goetz

Current Volunteers
Tom Backerud
Peter DeCarlo
Margaret Martyr
Andrew Stone
Jennifer Wagner

Internal Project Advisors
Matt Hill, Project Manager, Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund
Suzi Hunn Gran, Curriculum Specialist
Jennifer Jones, Director, Library and Collections
Marj Kelly, Senior Web Developer
Pamela McClanahan, Director, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Mary Poggione, Sales and Marketing Manager, Minnesota Historical Society Press
Kate Roberts, Senior Exhibit Developer
Adam Scher, Senior Curator
Rose Sherman, Director, Enterprise Technology and Business Development
Jennifer Sly, Museum Education and Technology Specialist

Initial External Project Advisors and Consultants
James Halabuk, Digital History Associate, Center for History and New Media
Jaime Haire, Archivist and Metadata Specialist
Diane Herman, Consultant, Cincinnatus
Ron Jerome, Drupal Programmer/Analyst
Sharon Leon, Director, Public Projects, Center for History and New Media
Josh Welsh, Consultant, Frederickson Communications
John Wooden, Director, Usability Services, Frederickson Communications
Liam Wyatt, Cultural Partnerships Fellow, Wikimedia Foundation

Special thanks to the Internet Digital Encyclopedia Alliance, Minnesota history scholars, Minnesota Wikipedia editors, county and local history professionals, History Day and Northern Lights instructors, and other Minnesota Historical Society staff members who have provided support for this project

Help

We're here to help. Visit the Help page or contact us if you're having any trouble using MNopedia.