WSU Retention List Stories

Some of the books on WSU’s retention list deal with geological formations found in the local area. The Karst geology of the region sometimes amplifies issues with groundwater contamination.

Sweeting, Marjorie Mary. Karst Geomorphology. Benchmark papers in geology; 59. Stroudsburg, PA: Hutchinson Ross, 1981.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. This is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

The Federal Government of the United States publishes a great deal of information. Historically, the federal government has operated a depository system, whereby it sends out copies of publications to a large group of libraries. Before the Internet, those publications were primarily sent to libraries in a paper format. Technically, the publications are still owned by the federal government, and the libraries are simply making them available to the public. 

Part of the reasoning for sending out many copies of publications to libraries was that a future administration or congress could not restrict information about what previous governments had done, which might be historically relevant. (That is also why federal government publications are not copyrighted.) 

Today, much of the information made public by the federal government is in the form of electronic files which are online. Some libraries download those born-digital files into institutional repositories so that they will not be lost as the government changes. (For example, if an agency goes out of existence, the files on its servers might disappear and be lost to posterity if they were not saved by libraries.) For the last two months, government documents librarians have been busy downloading online information from the outgoing administration and congress to preserve their historical record in preparation for the new presidential administration and congress.

Because the federal government has distributed free copies of government documents to depository libraries, such as Winona State, those documents do not tend to be rare in Minnesota. Here are two government documents that are, nevertheless, on WSU’s retention list. 

National Power Survey: Environmental Research. The Report and Recommendations of the Task Force on Environmental Research to the Technical Advisory Committee on Research and Development. U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1974.

Waterborne Commerce of the United States. Part 2. Waterways and harbors, Gulf Coast, Mississippi River and Antilles. U.S. Army Engineer District, 1978.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. Here is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

Emerita Professor Robin Devinney (formerly Richardson) wrote a handbook for her biology classes, which is on our retention list.

Richardson, Robin. Handbook for the Curious. Kendall Hunt, 2009.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. Here is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

With flooding in the news, it is wise to recall the flooding problems in Winona, MN. After the catastrophic floods of 1965, the current levee was built between Winona and the Mississippi River. Fifty years ago, a team of Winona State faculty, led by Cal Fremling, published an environmental impact report on that work. Phase II of that report is on the Krueger Library’s retention list.

Fremling, Calvin R, Ervin G Bublitz, and Roger A Carlson. Environmental Impact Assessment Report on the Flood Control Project and Waterfront Development at Winona, Minnesota: Phase II Report. Winona, Minn: Winona State College, 1974.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. Here is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

In his last years, the late Emeritus Professor Michael Delong (Biology) published his magnum opus, Rivers of North America (2023). (See below.) The Krueger Library, naturally, owns a copy, but it is not on WSU’s retention list. Other books about the conservation of rivers, however, are on the retention list.

De Waal, Louise., et al. Rehabilitation of Rivers: Principles and Implementation. John Wiley & Sons, 1998.

Boon, P. J., et al. Global Perspectives on River Conservation: Science, Policy, and Practice. Wiley, 2000.

Delong, Michael D. et al., eds. Rivers of North America. Second edition / edited by Michael D. Delong, Timothy D. Jardine, Arthur C. Benke, Colbert E. Cushing. Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2023.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. Here is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

Recap: In 2022, twenty-four Minnesota libraries joined together in a commitment to retain over a half-million print books which are scarcely-held in Minnesota. It is called the Minnesota Shared Print Collection. Here is one of the stories from the Winona State share of the collection.

Winona State faculty who work on sustainability issues have requested books on a wide variety of subjects, including the global availability of water and renewable energy. Several of those titles are scarcely-held in Minnesota and are on our retention list.

Renzetti, Steven. The Economics of Water Demands. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.

Grenon, Michel. The Nuclear Apple and the Solar Orange: Alternatives in World Energy. Trans. Roger Peniston-Bird. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1981.