Electronic Library for Minnesota
ELM is a collection of research and information databases to be used by Minnesota residents through their school, public, academic, and state government libraries or the ELM Portal. The databases in ELM were recommended by the Minitex Electronic Information Resources Task Force and are licensed through June 30, 2013.
If you would like to set up direct links to all or a selection of the ELM databases on your library website, visit "Set Up ELM Access from Your Website" on the Minitex website.
If you have questions about setting up access, please visit our ELM information on the Minitex website or send us your question(s).
Use ELM Personalized to make it easier for your students or patrons to find and use the ELM databases they're most likely to want. Simply set up an account, select from the list of databases available, and get your customized URL. You can share that URL with your students or patrons and they'll see the databases that you’ve selected. They’ll also be authenticated through the ELM proxy server for seamless access whether at the library or at home. You can even get usage statistics for your Personalized site.
Need help in learning how to use ELM or resources to teach ELM to your patrons? The ELM Learning Center is a collection of instructional materials on the ELM databases organized into courses. The ELM Learning Center can help you get to know ELM and provides as much information as you'd like on using ELM more effectively. The ELM Learning Center includes:
Please feel free to save, modify, and/or share anything you find in the ELM Learning Center with proper attribution.
Use ELM for K-12 Academic Standards to find relevant reliable research content mapped to Minnesota curriculum benchmarks. Locate a benchmark and find links to encyclopedia articles, magazine and journal articles, images, and multimedia content in relevant ELM databases (Britannica, Student Resources in Context, Searchasaurus, Science Reference Center, Student Research Center, and Academic Search Premier). Show ELM for K-12 Academic Standards to your teachers to help them incorporate reliable library database content into classroom work. Use ELM for K-12 Academic Standards as a jumping off point to promote other databases and library resources to support classroom teachers' curriculum.
Want an intro to the tool? Watch "ELM for K-12 Academic Standards: An Introduction" (5:12).
You can find publications for library staff in some of the ELM databases on the Professional Journals page.
Here are some examples:
If you have a specific library-related journal in mind, try searching for it in our "Find a Publication."
AskMN was created as a way for libraries to provide online reference services to their patrons and community in a collaborative setting to allow for continuity of service, ease in starting up the service, and centralized training and administrative support.
To learn more about how you/your library can participate in AskMN please visit "How Libraries Participate" on the AskMN website.
Tell us your story about how you have used the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM) resources in your library, for your professional development, for your personal interests, or in other ways you have found ELM resources to be useful.
We compile the ELM stories and share them to inform legislators, administrators, and others about the importance of ELM resources for Minnesotans and to demonstrate the many ways ELM is used by people throughout the state.
We welcome your ideas, comments, and suggestions. Your input will help us in serving you better.
Visit ELM Educational Materials to find widgets you can place on your website to gather feedback from your community.