USAIN/NEH Agricultural and Rural Life Literature Preservation: North Dakota

Progress Summary 8/1/02

A working draft of our bibliography of North Dakota agricultural and rural life literature prior to 1946 was completed Februray 2001. A panel of experts then examined the bibliography and assigned priority rankings. From the rankings, library staff calculated those items collectively ranked of most importance (Priority I), and significant importance (Priority II); these items were re-checked for holding libraries, and to eliminate those already preserved by preservation standard microfilming (or microfiching); pamphlet materials were also separated into separate categories within the bibliography. The working copy of the bibliography was edited into a final format. Print copies are available by contacting the NDSU Library; the bibliography is also available online as a an HTML file, and as a searchable file.

The microfilming service selected for the project was Preservation Resources, Bethlehem PA. This company specializes in the standard of quality preservation microfilming necessary for this project, and has come highly recommended. A total of 6 shipments of physical volumes were shipped to Preservation Resources at more or less one month intervals October-March, 2001/2002. Microfilming has been completed. Cataloging of the microfilm reels has also been completed.

We pulled materials from the collections at North Dakota State Library; we have also borrowed materials from the collections of the University of North Dakota, the North Dakota State Library, the Historical Society of North Dakota, Minot State University library and University of Minnesota, Minnesota State Historical Society, Wisconsin State Historical Society, Ohio State University, and Columbia University.