What else do you want MNopedia to do? What works best now? What needs fixing?

I have to wonder why this resource is not organized to be collaboratively built like Wikipedia? In the long term, I guess my question is: does the MNHS have the resources to devote to keeping a team available to run this site? Also, does this format increase or decrease barriers to entry to participation by under-represented and non-majority Minnesota populations? For example, if a wiki would encourage our newer immigrants to tell their stories, I'd be very keen to suggest that format.

The "about" page doesn't say that this site is intended to be an encyclopedia of Minnesota *history*; perhaps making that explicit would be good.

I'm curious about the access that students will have to Primary sources. As a former history student, I know that one thing I struggled with while writing my capstone paper was finding time to make it to the MHS Library to research the primary documents (in my case, old court documents). I don't know about the feasibility, but I'd love to see increased access to the many wonderful things I know MHS has archived away.

At this point we are directly linking to every relevant source we can that is available digitally, so that students can access it from wherever they are. As digitzation projects continue and more is available, we will continue to provide digital copies of pertinent primary sources through this resource. For things that are not digitized, hopefully the lists of resources will provide students with a good starting place and assistance in preparing a research plan in advance to maximize effectiveness of limited time in the MHS library.

I think that another important historical topic is the government of Minnesota. I am trying to find out how long a former friend served on the State Board of Education. Apparently the State Board of Education no longer exists and according to the State website it is no longer even a memory. Government is how we became Minnesota and how we remain Minnesota, but I cannot find a resource to track its history nor the record of its accomplishments. If we did not have government to bring us together and help us think about who we are and what our priorities are as a people we would be no more than scattered parochial clusters of Norwegians, Swedes, and Finns, with occasional pockets of Slavs and people indistinguishable from South Dakotans. People would not even notice the indigenous population of Ojibway and Lakota people. This does not describe Minnesota. How did we become the great state we are? It is in the history of our university and colleges, our social service system, our parks, and our public school system. To understand who we are, we must understand how we became who we are, and that story is in the public record. It may seem boring, but it is essential.

Thank you for your comment, John. We on the encyclopedia team agree that the history of our shared government and community institutions is important and I do not think it is boring at all. They are definitely on the list of topics to be addressed as the resource grows.