<p>This collection of 14 linear feet includes newspaper articles, drafts, correspondence, and slides of Mina Walther, a former biology teacher and nature writer.</p> <p>The materials in the Mina Walther Collection include her research books and 26 years of newspaper columns written between 1977-2003, generally on Florida nature and wildlife, as well as a slide collection of her world travels. Ms. Walther wrote the column Tide Lines for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune from 1977-2003. A posthumous anthology of her articles has been published by the Mote Library called Nature Is Wonderful.</p> <p>The Mina Walther Collection is open to the public, and is located in the Library’s compact shelving.</p> <p><b>Note on Project Funding</b><br> Since late 2009, the library staff has been conducting a basic processing and digitization project of pertinent Mote Technical Reports, 1930s-40s gray literature from the Bass Biological Laboratory (BBL) of Englewood, Florida, and various other SW Florida environment-related collections dating to the early 1920s. The process involves the rescue and preservation of unpublished documents and data from various entities, conversion to electronic format and e-publication of some of the key materials in the Library's open-access repository, DSpace. Initial digitization was funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services. In 2011, materials processing was supported by the Mote Scientific Foundation. This project was then expanded and continued in 2013, thanks to funds from The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.</p>