The Hennepin County Libraries will recall their deep-rooted history, celebrate their ongoing success, and look forward to their future endeavors with their summer-long exhibit, "For Use: 125 Years of Library Service in Hennepin County," at the Minneapolis Central Library.
A grand opening program and reception will kick off the event at 7 p.m. Thursday in Pohlad Hall at the Minneapolis Central Library.
The program is built around the theme "The Past, Present and Future of Libraries" and will feature a prominent former library director and the current director. Minnesota Historical Society history player Maureen Trepp will portray Gratia Countryman, library director from 1904 to 1936, in a discussion about the history and evolution of the county's libraries with current library director Lois Langer Thompson. A casual reception will follow the program.
The ongoing exhibit will focus on how library service has evolved over the past 125 years, said Stu Wilson, executive director of the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.
"You might think it would be a progressing of buildings, but it's more about the way library services changed to serve the community," he said.
The exhibit will feature several interactive pieces. A technology table will allow patrons to try out e-readers, while an MP3 station will allow them to listen to oral histories from the library's special collections.
At another station, visitors will be able to answer questions regarding what they value most in the library system and what they would like to see in the future. They will be able to write their answers on cards and slip them into an old-fashioned card catalog.
"It's a way to interact and give us feedback on what they want to see in the library," said Johannah Genett, programming director of Hennepin County Libraries.
