Purpose

• Provide funding to preserve Minnesota history by digitizing legacy media. The bill appropriates money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to support digitization work and public access.

Main Provisions

• Funding amount: $20,000 in fiscal year 2027.
• Source: Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
• Recipient and process: The governing board of the Minnesota Historical Society will grant the funds to a nonprofit organization.
• Work funded: Repair and replace technology used to digitize legacy media, including videotape, film, audio, and print materials.
• Media scope: Includes news, commerce materials, documentaries, and local stories.
• End result: The grant money must be used to convert media to a digital format.
• Public access requirement: The grantee must allow the digitized material to be shared with the public.

Funding and Administration

• The bill creates an appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to support digitization efforts via a grant to a nonprofit organization through the Minnesota Historical Society's governing board.

Public Access and Sharing

• A key condition of the grant is that the digitized material must be shared with the public, ensuring access to Minnesota history.

Significance and Impact

• Supports preservation of Minnesota history by enabling digitization of various legacy media.
• Improves public access to historical materials through digital formats.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Establishes a new appropriation for digitization efforts and public sharing; no other policy changes to existing law are specified in the provided text.

Relevant Terms - Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund - Minnesota Historical Society - grant - nonprofit organization - digitize / digitization - legacy media - videotape - film - audio - print materials - news - commerce - documentaries - local stories - digital format - public sharing / share with the public - appropriation - fiscal year 2027 - repair and replace technology - public access