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Minnesota Historical Society launches online encyclopedia

Posted at 3:32 PM on August 17, 2011 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Culture, Education, Libraries, Media, Museums

The Minnesota Historical Society is launching an on-line encyclopedia about the state.

The site, www.mnopedia.org, is designed to offer multimedia entries about significant people, places, events and things in Minnesota history.

The site will grow and evolve over time, but MNHS is inviting the public to kick the tires of this new internet resource. Users are encouraged to test the site, give feedback and help make MNopedia an invaluable A-to-Z resource about Minnesota.

Currently, the prototype provides content in more than a dozen categories, including agriculture, women, architecture, sports and the environment.

In a release sent out this afternoon, Erica Hartmann, MNopedia Editor and Project Manager with the Minnesota Historical Society Press, said "MNopedia is a Legacy project, paid for by Minnesotans, so we want to give the public a real role in shaping it. We want users to tell us what's working and what's not, so we can refine and expand MNopedia in the coming year."

The MNopedia is designed to be a resource not just for history buffs, but teachers, students, journalists and the general public.

Most of the entries will be written by experts; Hartmann says historical society is continuing to recruit new parters and contributors to reflect the states diversity.