NavigationTipsfortheMinnesotaStateFair’sDigitalArchivesTheMinnesotaStateFairdigitalarchivesavailableatcorp.arcasearch.com/usmnmsf/includesannualreportsandcompetitionresults.Originally,competitionresults(winnerslists)wereapartoftheannualreport,butbeginningin1956theywereseparatedintoanotherdocument.Ingeneral,theannualreportsgiveasynopsisoftheStateFair,events,annualmeeting,andfinancials.CompetitionresultsareforexhibitorsinAg-Hort-Bee,CreativeActivities,Education,FFA,Horse,Livestock,andmore.Whenyouclickonthelinktothedigitalarchives,itwillbringyoutothewelcomepage.ClickontheAccessAllStateFairArchivesbuttontoenterthemainwebsite,whichwilllooklikethis:

Therearevariouswaystosearch.Toviewannualreportsandcompetitionresultsbyyear,clickontheIssueListbutton.Scrolldowntotheyearyouwantandclicktoopen.Forcloserviewingonaparticularpage,clickonit.Toreturnbacktotheresults,clickShowPreviews.

Youcanchangethesizeoftheimageforviewing—foraMac,runyourcursoratthebottomcenterforzoomingandsavingoptionstoappear.OnaPC,putyourcursoroverthedocumentandaheaderwillappearwithiconstorotatethepage,download,orprint.Filesaresavedwiththeyearandpagenumber.Example:msf-1902-0_143standsfortheMinnesotaStateFair,year1902,annualreport,andpg.143.

Ifyouarelookingforaparticularitem,suchascrochet,youcanenteritinthesearchbaratthetop.Atthistime,ifyouentercrochet,thereshouldbe256results.However,ifyouclickonShowOptionsandchooseStemming,itwillalsofindwordssuchascrochetedandcrocheting,whichatthistimeyields832results.Ifyouwanttolimittheyearsofthesearch,againundertheShowOptionsisaDateSearch.Clickonthebuttonnexttoitandchooseayear,thensearchwithin,ahead,orback,andhowmanyyearsyouwouldlikeincluded.

Sometimesyoumaywanttounderstandthecontextofaresult.Whenyouhavethedocumentopen,youcanclickonarrowsinthesearchbar,justtotherightofPDFs.Thisenablesyoutosearchthepagesbeforeandaftertheresultpage.Othertips:Inthesearchbar,therearevariouswaystosearch.Forexample,ifyouenterthewordsHorseBarn,youwillget341results.EnteringHorseandBarnwillgetmoreresults,becausewhensearchingthisway,thetwowordsdonothavetobenexttoeachother,onlyonthesamepage.

Anotherexampleisifyouhaveacommonlastname,suchasJohnson.IfyouenterJohnsoninthesearchbar,therearetoomanyresultstorunacompletesearch.However,ifyouknowyouarelookingforaHolsteinexhibitorwiththenameJohnson,youcansearchforJohnsonandHolsteinandyourresultswillbemoreaccurate.Or,ifyouarelookingforapersonfromacertaincity,youcanenterJohnsonw/5Rochester.Thew/5meansthatthewordsJohnsonandRochesterwillbewithinfivewordsofeachother,beforeorafter.Itisanarbitrarynumber,butthenumbers5through10tendtobeagoodrange.Aperson’snamemaynotalwaysbetheenteredthesameway.Forexample,ifyouarelookingforJamesJ.Hillandenterjustthat,youwillget19results.IfyouenterJ.J.Hill,therewillbe20results,andMr.Hill,28.Inthesearchbar,ifyouenterJamesJ.HillorJ.J.HillorMr.Hill,allresultswillshow—61intotal(noteperiodsarenotnecessary).Anotherthingtokeepinmindwithnamesisthatitwascommonforamarriedwomantoenterherexhibitsunderherhusband’sname,suchasMrs.JamesJohnsonorMrs.J.Johnson.Itisnotalwaysthecase,butsomethingtokeepinmind.Additionally,namesweresometimesabbreviated;forexample,WilliamwouldbelistedasWm.

TheSearchFuzzinesstabisusefulforwhenyoudon’tknowtheexactspellingofawordorname,andincertaincasesawordornameismisspelledinthereports.Asanexample,ifyouenterRoseveltinthesearchbar,itwillyieldoneresult,whichhappenstobemisspelled.ChangethetabtoFuzziness:Med,searchagain,andthenRooseveltwillappear.Resultswillvarydependingonthewordandtheamountof“fuzziness”youchose.Justunderthesearchbarthemethodofsearchisidentified.ThetipsinthisdocumentpertaintoaBooleanmethodsearchformat.Thesystemcanalsobesearchedbyallwords,anywords,andsortedbydateascendingordescending,orbyhits.Experimenttofindwhatworksbestforyou.Partofthefunisstumblingupontidbitsthatyouweren’tlookingfor—therearealotofinterestingpiecesofinformationtobefound.EnjoylearningaboutthehistoryoftheMinnesotaStateFair!