Home » About MINITEX » Facts & Figures » FY 2007 Program Administration

Fiscal Year 2007 Program Administration: Facts & Figures

Loading...

MINITEX Library Information Network, a program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota, is a publicly supported network of academic, public, K-12 school, state government, and special libraries working cooperatively to improve library service for their users. MINITEX is located at the University of Minnesota and is a division of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Libraries.

Administrative Organization

The MINITEX Policy Advisory Council advises the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the MINITEX Director in planning, development, and evaluation of the programs and services of the MINITEX Library Information Network and provides a forum for active discussion. Appointment to the Policy Advisory Council is made by the Director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education based upon nominations from the various types of Minnesota libraries that participate in MINITEX programs. The State Librarian, who is the director of Minnesota State Library Services (the Minnesota state library agency), is an ex officio member as are the state librarians of North and South Dakota and the Library System Director for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education, the MINITEX Policy Advisory Council, and the MINITEX staff collaboratively set goals and objectives and define services. During Fiscal Year 2007, MINITEX carried out the day-to-day operation of its programs and services with a staff of 88 plus 173 student workers.

In addition to determining general MINITEX policies, the Minnesota Office of Higher Education is responsible for MINITEX program evaluation, external relations, and legislative liaison. The University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin Cities, provide access to its extensive collections of monographs, serials, and other materials for MINITEX participating libraries. Minneapolis Public Library serves as the second major resource collection searched daily by MINITEX staff to fill incoming requests. Requests not filled from these collections are referred to other libraries known to have the item.

Minnesota Digital Library Integration

Fiscal Year 2007 was the first during which MINITEX was charged with providing the administrative home for the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) and its first project, "Minnesota Reflections," a collection of digitized photos, maps, drawings, and other images and digitized documents that portray the history of Minnesota. Prior to its integration into MINITEX, the MDL was an independent program of the Minnesota Digital Library Coalition, which includes libraries, historical societies, and other cultural organizations throughout the state. Created and coordinated by staff of participating institutions, the MDL will continue to be guided by its Steering Committee as it grows to share more resources with Minnesotans and, through the Internet, with information seekers around the world.

Funding and Reciprocal Agreements

MINITEX receives legislative appropriations through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to support services to Minnesota's academic libraries, state government libraries, and non-profit libraries. MINITEX staff negotiates contracts for services with Minnesota State Library Services and with the state libraries in North Dakota and South Dakota to support MINITEX services for additional Minnesota libraries and for libraries in the Dakotas. The University of Minnesota receives no direct reimbursement for services it provides to host the MINITEX service program.

Agreements provide for reciprocal sharing of resources between libraries in the MINITEX region and libraries throughout Wisconsin. Separate agreements enable resource sharing between MINITEX libraries and others beyond the three-state region.

MINITEX Participating Libraries, Fiscal Year 2007

  • 158 Academic Libraries
  • 180 Public Libraries
  • 89 Special Libraries
  • 1731 K-12 School Libraries