Among my many duties, I am curator of data processing here at the Minnesota
Historical Society.  In truth, Minnesota was one of the hubs of early
computer hardware design and building, and there are several companies that
are closely identified with the state:  Control Data and Cray are just two
of the best-known.

I would appreciate anybody's thoughts on this:  For those of us who are not
computer museums or museums of technology--how do we develop collecting
plans for computers?  What value do computers have in the collection of
regular history museums?  If these ancient behemouths don't work, how much
value do they have for visitors?  How much do we need to explain the
industry and its output?  And what, realistically, can we do with them once
we've got them?

I have decided that I only want to collect stuff that came out of Minnesota
companies (that narrows the field a bit).  And it is not even within the
realm of the possible to collect "examples" of the different types of
computers that were used here.  I sort of feel that our job is to document
the industry within the state.  But how?  And what?  (I won't get into
software now, but that is a whole other discussion.)

I know that a lot of you must be grappling with this, and I am hoping that
some of you have actually given it more thought than I have thus far.

Help!

Claudia Nicholson
Curator
Museum Collections Department
Minnesota Historical Society
345 Kellogg Blvd. W.
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
  e-mail:  [log in to unmask]
  Phone:  651-297-7442
  FAX:  651-297-2967

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