In 1955, Christian Kent Nelson was awarded a patent for his Eskimo Machine. The machinery squeezed out ice cream of the correct dimensions which was then cut into bars. This process was faster than the older method of molding the ice cream bar. Undated photo courtesy Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Used with permission.

There's help for people who want to know about the beginnings of the bread-slicer, the creation of the corn picker or the makings of the matchstick. A new database from the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation will show the public where to find these and thousands of other invention-related documents and collections. Created by the Lemelson Center at the National Museum of American History, the MIND (Modern Inventors Documentation) database identifies the invention-related holdings of hundreds of archives across the United States and is the nation's first database devoted exclusively to such documents.

This red eye signal drawing by inventor Everett Huckel Bickley is one of the invention-related items that could be found by searching through the Lemelson Center's MIND database. Early 1940s drawing, courtesty Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Used with permission.

The collections in the database cover a variety of subjects, with many from medical, consumer, scientific, household and legal fields. With more than 1,600 records when it debuted in May, it is continuing to grow daily as more archives, museums, libraries and historical societies report the contents of their invention-related collections to the Smithsonian for inclusion in the MIND database.

Records can be searched by subject, inventor name, collection title or repository name. Users simply submit a key word to search and if the invention is in the database it will note what materials exist about the invention, which museum, archive or library holds the collection, and how to contact them for more details.

Howard Head, a former aircraft engineer developed, designed, manufactured, and marketed the first metal laminate skis in 1950 called the "Head Standard" which revolutionized the ski industry. Undated photo courtesy Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Used with permission.

For example, if you type in "food" as your keyword search, dozens of food-related invention collections appear. If you click on one, "Eskimo Pie Corporation Records", the MIND database details the location of the collection, a physical description of it, and a summary of the contents. Where possible, there is also information on how to access the collection and a direct weblink to the collection or its holder. With the Eskimo Pie example, a click on the weblink takes you to the online finding aid for the Archives Center of the National Museum of American History. There, a more complete description of the contents, including image samples, is found.

Christian Kent Nelson invented the Eskimo Pie in 1920. Information on his invention and others can be found by accessing the MIND database. Undated photo courtesy Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Used with permission.

Advanced search options allow the user to search by repository, inventor name, or collection title. Users can also search for inventions from a list of over sixty subjects, from agriculture to maritime to writing and drawing technology.

Easily accessed online, teachers can use the MIND database as a resource to help teach students how to conduct historical research. Scholars can use it as a "first stop" in locating historical documents about invention. "Collections dealing with invention are fragmented but the MIND database brings them together," said Lemelson Center director Art Molella. "Now you can just as easily find a collection documenting the invention of a small butter churn as you can find records on Thomas Edison." To access the MIND database or learn how repositories with relevant collections can contribute information about their holdings, visit invention.smithsonian.org/MIND.

Visit the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation at http://invention.smithsonian.org/.

Copyright^© 2006 Corporation for National Research Initiatives

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doi:10.1045/june2006-featured.collection