From InfoDocket to MPR, the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML) has been getting a lot of attention recently. And from the amount of work they’ve been doing its well warranted. Mostly, it’s due to their efforts to preserve materials that are in danger of disappearing. From Iraq to Timbuktu (Mali), HMML is working to preserve a wealth of original items.
In Mali, it’s Islamic religious texts. “By digitally preserving the manuscripts, HMML can provide a quality surrogate of the originals, and for the first time in the world’s history, give international researchers and scholars direct access to these rich collections.”
What’s going on at the Duluth Public Library? “In September, the library got a surprise visit from a Minnesota Department of Agriculture seed inspector,” Dan Kraker writes. Kraker, of MPR News, reported on the turn of events earlier this month. The library’s seed-sharing program “allows members to borrow vegetable seeds from the library in the spring and later return seeds they collect from their gardens.” The program, however, violates Minnesota state law because it doesn’t test the seeds that are distributed. Libraries across the country have found themselves in similar positions, but Steve Malone, a supervisor of the Plant Protection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, wants to work with the library. “Our enforcement of this is to try to coach and bring them along, rather than just come in and blast them,” Malone said.
A recent study conducted by the non-profit organization, Connect Minnesota, found that more than a quarter of Minnesotans still do not have broadband in their homes. One of the top two reasons cited for not having broadband in the home is fairly obvious – cost. Of those without broadband in their homes, 18% reported that they do not have broadband due to cost. However, the most popular reason reported by 29% of those without broadband in their homes is that “…there isn’t content relevant to them on the Internet”.
Wow, that statistic really shocked me! I can’t imagine someone believing that the Internet contains nothing relevant to them! If you’re surprised by this too, and want to learn more, start by checking out today’s article from MPR, then be sure to follow the article’s links!
Image by: Sean MacEntee
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