Minnesota State Mankato’s Library Services Acquires 97 Reels of Historical Microfilm

New acquisition is primary resource that provides more detailed local history

April 27, 2022 | News Story

Legacy logo MN Historical Cultural GrantMankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Library Services has acquired 97 reels of historical microfilm that can be used to support research by students and provide a more detailed local history for the public, genealogists and historians.

The 97 reels of microfilm were acquired through a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grant and are housed in the microfilm collection of Minnesota State Mankato’s Marilyn J. Lass Center for Minnesota Studies.

The newly acquired microfilm includes 39 reels of Mankato Weekly Free Press newspaper issues published between 1879 and 1923; eight reels of the Mankato Post, a German language newspaper, including issues published between 1887 and 1918; and six reels of the North Mankato Review newspaper, with issues from 1921-1923 and 1935-1947.

Among other publications in the collection are issues of a newspaper called the Legionnaire or Mankato Legionnaire that was published by Mankato’s American Legion Lorentz Post 11 from 1933-1972; issues from 1940-1950 of the Mankato High News, which was published by Mankato High School; and the Kato Engineering News, an official publication of the Kato Engineering Company from 1956-1960.

For a complete list of the 97 reels of microfilm that were acquired or other information, please contact Heidi Southworth, associate professor and digital initiatives librarian, by phone at 507-389-5066 or email at heidi.southworth@mnsu.edu.

This project has been financed in part with funds provided by the state of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society. More information about the grant program is available at https://www.mnhs.org/preservation/legacy-grants/about.

The Marilyn J. Lass Center for Minnesota Studies is a special collection within Library Services that is dedicated to preserving and making available resources about Minnesota, specifically southern Minnesota and Blue Earth County.

The primary mission of Library Services at Minnesota State Mankato is to promote learning and the advancement of knowledge through qualify services and access to information and resources.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.

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