Mini Page Collection, 1969-2010s

Collection Number: 05437

Collection Title: Mini Page Collection, 1969-2010s

This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	20.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 6500 items)
Abstract	The Mini Page, created by Betty Debnam Hunt, a white woman from Raleigh, N.C., and first published in 1969, is a weekly feature delivered through about 500 newspapers across the United States. Targeted mainly at children, their parents, and educators, The Mini Page covers a different topic each week and teaches readers through puzzles, recipes, activities, and pictures. The collection consists of volumes of weekly editions of The Mini Page, 1969-2007, and other Mini Page publications and products, including joke and activity books; ephemera; and booklets and resource guides on topics including the United States government and history, environmentalism, learning foreign languages, and healthy living habits. The collection also includes school newspaper contest materials; reader correspondence and survey materials; office files of advertisement ideas and elements, correspondence, contracts, clippings, awards, and speeches; slides of classroom scenes, the Mini Page office, and trips to Saudi Arabia, China, Colorado, and Taiwan; and data digital video discs of Mini Page elements, 1996-2007.
Creator	Debnam, Betty.
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language	English

Expand/collapse Information For Users

: No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use: Users are informed that materials in this collection are (a) available for nonprofit educational research/teaching/scholarship purposes only; (b) permission for printing multiple copies from this collection must be obtained from the Universal Press Syndicate prior to use; and (c) permission for linking or downloading materials in this collection must be obtained from the Universal Press Syndicate prior to use.

Restrictions to Use: Copyright is held by the Universal Press Syndicate, a division of Andrews McMeel Universal, Inc.

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], in the Mini Page Collection #5437, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information: Received from Betty Debnam Hunt of Raleigh, N.C., in August 2009 (Acc. 101159), October 2010 (Acc. 101364: Volumes 42-44), March 2012 (Acc. 101568), November 2013 (Acc. 101933), January 2016 (Acc. 102497), October 2017 (Acc. 103392), and March 2019 (Acc. 103551).

Additional Descriptive Resources: Searchable digitized images from the Mini Page Collection are available online at http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/minipage/index.html.

Sensitive Materials Statement: Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Kiley Orchard, March 2010

Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, October 2010

Encoded by: Kiley Orchard, March 2010

Revisions: Nancy Kaiser, September 2011; Amanda Lowe, December 2013; Nancy Kaiser and Patrick Cullom, August 2018; Nancy Kaiser, March 2019.

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Expand/collapse Historical Information

The Mini Page is a weekly feature delivered through newspapers across the United States. The Mini Page covers a different topic each week and teaches readers through puzzles, recipes, activities, and pictures. First published in 1969 and targeted mainly at children, their parents, and educators, The Mini Page is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, a division of Andrews McMeel Universal, in about 500 newspapers. In May 2007, The Mini Page was purchased by the Universal Press Syndicate, which had distributed it for 30 years.

Betty Debnam Hunt, a white woman from Raleigh, N.C., graduated from the University of North Carolina with a political science degree in 1952 and obtained her master's degree in education at Duke University in 1963. She worked as an advertising copywriter, alumni secretary, public relations professional, and second-grade teacher before creating The Mini Page in 1969. As creator of The Mini Page, she took on the roles of author, reporter, editor, artist, and salesperson. Debnam Hunt received the North Carolina Award and the Newspaper Association of America Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, the Newspapers in Education Hall of Fame, and the Association of Educational Publishers Hall of Fame. She was married to retired Marine Colonel Richard Hunt (d. 1998).

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

The collection consists of volumes of weekly editions of The Mini Page, 1969-2007, and other Mini Page publications and products, including joke and activity books; greeting cards; bookmarks; and booklets and resource guides on topics including the United Statesgovernment and history, environmentalism, learning foreign languages, and healthy living habits. The collection also includes a mat book of reproduction proofs of Mini Page characters featured in local advertising campaigns and data digital video discs of Mini Page elements, 1996-2007.

Additions to the collection include school newspaper contest materials; reader survey materials; routine office files containing records of early advertisements, letters of support from readers, most of whom are children, correspondence, news clippings about the Mini Page and its creator Betty Debnam Hunt, awards, speeches, files on mini page characters and miscellaneous features, and printed ephemera; slides of classroom scenes, the Mini Page office, and trips to Saudi Arabia, China, Colorado, and Taiwan; and additional publications for kids on topics such as cooking and United States history and government.

Searchable digitized images from the Mini Page Collection are available online at http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/minipage/index.html.

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

1. Mini Page Volumes, 1969-2007.
2. Other Mini Page Publications and Products, 1980-2009.
3. Data Digital Video Discs, 1996-2007.
3A. Data Digital Video Discs, 1997-2004 (Addition of November 2013)
4A. Contest and Survey Materials, 1979-2003 (Addition of March 2012)
5A. Office Files, 1971-2007 (Addition of January 2016)
5A. Office Files, 1972-2005 (Addition of October 2017)
5A. Office Files, 1970s-2010s (Addition of March 2019)

Expand/collapse Series 1. Mini Page Volumes, 1969-2007.

42 items.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Volumes of weekly editions of The Mini Page by year and an indexed guide. See also Series 3 for digital files of Mini Page elements.

Folder 1	Index, 1973-2007 Index to weekly editions of Mini Page, including subject, theme, date, and issue number, apparently created by Universal Press Syndicate.
Oversize Volume SV-5437/1	The Mini Page Annual, 1969-1970
Oversize Volume SV-5437/2	1969-1970
Oversize Volume SV-5437/3	1970-1971: Charlotte, N.C.
Oversize Volume SV-5437/4	The Mini Page Annual, 1970-1971
Oversize Volume SV-5437/5	1971-1972: Charlotte, N.C.
Oversize Volume SV-5437/6	1972-1973
Oversize Volume SV-5437/7	1973
Oversize Volume SV-5437/8	1973-1974
Oversize Volume SV-5437/9	1974-1975
Oversize Volume SV-5437/10	1975
Oversize Volume SV-5437/11	1975-1976
Oversize Volume SV-5437/12	1976-1977
Oversize Volume SV-5437/13	1977-1978
Oversize Volume SV-5437/42	1978-1979
Oversize Volume SV-5437/14	1979
Oversize Volume SV-5437/43	1979-1980
Oversize Volume SV-5437/15	1980-1981
Oversize Volume SV-5437/44	1981
Oversize Volume SV-5437/16	1982
Oversize Volume SV-5437/17	1983
Oversize Volume SV-5437/18	1984
Oversize Volume SV-5437/19	1985
Oversize Volume SV-5437/20	1986
Oversize Volume SV-5437/21	1987
Oversize Volume SV-5437/22	1988
Oversize Volume SV-5437/23	1989
Oversize Volume SV-5437/24	1990
Oversize Volume SV-5437/25	1991
Oversize Volume SV-5437/26	1992
Oversize Volume SV-5437/27	1993
Oversize Volume SV-5437/28	1994
Oversize Volume SV-5437/29	1995
Oversize Volume SV-5437/30	1996
Oversize Volume SV-5437/31	1997
Oversize Volume SV-5437/32	1998
Oversize Volume SV-5437/33	1999
Oversize Volume SV-5437/34	2000
Oversize Volume SV-5437/35	2001
Oversize Volume SV-5437/36	2002
Oversize Volume SV-5437/37	2003
Oversize Volume SV-5437/38	2004
Oversize Volume SV-5437/39	2005
Oversize Volume SV-5437/40	2006
Oversize Volume SV-5437/41	2007

Expand/collapse Series 2. Other Mini Page Publications and Products, 1980-2009.

About 800 items.

Greeting cards, The Best of The Mini Page, 1977; All-New The Best of The Mini Page, 1982; joke and activity books; bookmarks; and booklets and resource guides on topics including the United States government and history, environmentalism, learning foreign languages, and healthy living habits. Also includes a mat book of reproduction proofs of Mini Page characters featured in local advertising campaigns.

Folder 2	Activity and joke books, 1980, 1982, 1984
Folder 3	Bookmarks, 1980-1981 Also includes one "Ziggy" bookmark.
Folder 4-5 Folder 4 Folder 5	Government booklets, 1991, 2001, 2006, 2009 Subjects include the White House, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the fifty states.
Folder 6	Greeting cards, 1981
Folder 7	Greeting cards: Duplicates, 1981
Folder 8	Greeting card material, 1981 Photocopied greeting cards, information on how to order cards, and one greeting card that does not appear to be connected to the Mini Page.
Folder 9	Resource books, 1995 Subjects include environmentalism, the United States government, and healthy living habits.
Folder 10	Tablecover, 1988
Folder 11	The Best of The Mini Page, 1977, 1982
Folder 12-14 Folder 12 Folder 13 Folder 14	Mini Page mat book, undated Reproduction proofs of Mini Page characters featured in local advertising campaigns.
Folder 15	Other publications and products, 1987-1991 Foreign language guides, a 1987 calendar, and a poster about Christopher Columbus.

Expand/collapse Series 3. Data Digital Video Discs, 1996-2007.

11 items.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Digital files of Mini Page elements.

DDVD-5437/1	Mini Page Projects, black-and-white, 1996-1999, and miscellaneous, 2001, 2006, and undated
DDVD-5437/2	Mini Page, black-and-white, 2000-2002
DDVD-5437/3	Mini Page, color, 2000-2001
DDVD-5437/4	Mini Page, color, 2002
DDVD-5437/5	Mini Page, color, 2003
DDVD-5437/6	Mini Page, black-and-white, 2003-2005
DDVD-5437/7	Mini Page, color, 2004
DDVD-5437/8	Mini Page, color, 2005
DDVD-5437/9	Mini Page, color, 2006
DDVD-5437/10	Mini Page, black-and-white, 2006-2007
DDVD-5437/11	Mini Page, color, 2007

Expand/collapse Series 3A. Data Digital Video Discs, 1997-2004 (Addition of November 2013)

27 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 101933

Arrangement: Chronological.

Digital files of Mini Page elements, 1997-2004.

DDVD-5437/12	Mini Page, black-and-white, 1997
DDVD-5437/13	Mini Page, 1997
DDVD-5437/14	Mini Page, black-and-white, 1998
DDVD-5437/15	Mini Page, color, 1998, and black-and-white, 1998-1999
DDVD-5437/16	Mini Page, black-and-white clip art, 1998
DDVD-5437/17	Mini Page, color Encapsulate PostScript pictures and clip art, 1998
DDVD-5437/18	Mini Page, black-and-white and color, April-June 1999
DDVD-5437/19	Mini Page, black-and-white pictures and clip art, July-September 1999
DDVD-5437/20	Mini Page, color, July-September 1999
DDVD-5437/21	Mini Page, black-and-white and color clip art, October-December 1999
DDVD-5437/22	Mini Page, black-and-white and color, 1st quarter, 2000
DDVD-5437/23_01	Mini Page, 2nd quarter, 2000
DDVD-5437/23_02	Mini Page, 2nd quarter, 2000 Duplicate of DDVD-5437/23_01.
DDVD-5437/24_01	Mini Page, 3rd quarter, 2000
DDVD-5437/24_02	Mini Page, 3rd quarter, 2000 Duplicate of DDVD-5437/24_01.
DDVD-5437/25	Mini Page, black-and-white and color, 4th quarter, 2000
DDVD-5437/26	Mini Page, black-and-white and color, 4th quarter, 2000
DDVD-5437/27	Mini Page, color, 1st quarter, 2001
DDVD-5437/28	Mini Page, black-and-white, 1st quarter, 2001
DDVD-5437/29	Mini Page, color disk A, 2nd quarter, 2001
DDVD-5437/30	Mini Page, color disk B, 2nd quarter, 2001
DDVD-5437/31	Mini Page, black-and-white, 2nd quarter, 2001
DDVD-5437/32	Mini Page, 2001-2002
DDVD-5437/33	Mini Page, 3rd quarter, disk A, 2001
DDVD-5437/34	Mini Page, 3rd quarter, disk B, 2001
DDVD-5437/35	Mini Page, black-and-white, 3rd quarter, 2004
DDVD-5437/36	Mini Page, color, 3rd quarter, 2004

Expand/collapse Series 4A. Contest and Survey Materials, 1979-2003 (Addition of March 2012)

3500 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 101568

Arrangement: Chronological by year.

This addition contains two groups of material: Group 1, School newspaper contest materials and Group 2: Reader survey materials. Group 1 consists of submissions to a Mini Page contest of newspapers created by elementary students. Group 2 consists of surveys filled out by readers.

Box 3	School newspaper contest, 1979
Box 4	School newspaper contest, 1979-1980
Box 5	School newspaper contest, 1980-1981
Box 6	School newspaper contest, 1981-1983
Box 7	School newspaper contest, 1983
Box 8	School newspaper contest, 1983-1986
Box 9	School newspaper contest, 1986-1987
Box 10	School newspaper contest, 1987
	School newspaper contest winners, 1979-1987
	School newspaper contest: Miscellaneous
	Art for ABC chart
	Surveys, 2000-2001
Box 11	Surveys, 2002-2003
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05437/1-2 OPF-05437/1 OPF-05437/2	School newspaper contest winner
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05437/3	Art, 1970
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05437/4	Print versions of newspaper, 1980-1981
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-05437/5-9 OPF-05437/5 OPF-05437/6 OPF-05437/7 OPF-05437/8 OPF-05437/9	Bicentennial calendars

Expand/collapse Series 5A. Office Files, 1971-2007 (Addition of January 2016)

50 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 102497

Office Files include records of early advertisement drafts, a signed petition for the Mini Page's inclusion in the Virginia Pilot (Norfolk, Va.), letters of support from readers, correspondence and newspaper clippings about the Mini Page, news clippings regarding Mini Page creator Betty Debnam Hunt and the Mini Page archive, and her nomination for inclusion in the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Box 12	Good letters
	Public relations: First advertisements
	Public relations: Miscellaneous
	Norfolk attempt petition
	National Women's Hall of Fame, 2000

Expand/collapse Series 5A. Office Files, 1972-2005 (Addition of October 2017)

1500 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 103392

Records include speeches, routine office files, files on mini page characters and miscellaneous features, printed ephemera, and slides of classroom scenes, the Mini Page office, and trips to Saudi Arabia, China(?), Colorado, and Taiwan.

Box 12	Speeches
	MSC Features, Inc., circa 1972 Routine office files of contracts, correspondence, and other materials documenting early business operations of the Mini Page Publishing Company with MSC Features, Inc.
	Characters How to draw, background on, and advertisements with various recurring characters of the Mini Page.
	Topical index
	History
	Royalties
	Sale, 1996
	Schedule of themes
	Client list
	Promotions and presentations
	Teacher's guide
	Early ad ideas
Box 13	Ad ideas
	Business promotions binder
	Loose papers
Box 14-15 Box 14 Box 15	Publications Puzzle books, cookbooks, civics lessons
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/01-02 PF-5437/1 PF-5437/2	Classroom scenes, circa November 1989 20 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/03	Mini Page office scenes, circa 1980s-1990s 18 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/04-16 PF-5437/4 PF-5437/5 PF-5437/6 PF-5437/7 PF-5437/8 PF-5437/9 PF-5437/10 PF-5437/11 PF-5437/12 PF-5437/13 PF-5437/14 PF-5437/15 PF-5437/16	Trip to Saudi Arabia, circa April 1990 240 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/17-18 PF-5437/17 PF-5437/18	Trip to China(?), circa March 1992 32 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/19-26 PF-5437/19 PF-5437/20 PF-5437/21 PF-5437/22 PF-5437/23 PF-5437/24 PF-5437/25 PF-5437/26	Trip to Colorado, circa July 1992 150 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides
Image Box 1 Image Folder PF-5437/27-39 PF-5437/27 PF-5437/28 PF-5437/29 PF-5437/30 PF-5437/31 PF-5437/32 PF-5437/33 PF-5437/34 PF-5437/35 PF-5437/36 PF-5437/37 PF-5437/38 PF-5437/39	Trip to Taiwan, circa June-July 1992 260 images Color 35mm Mounted Slides

Expand/collapse Series 5A. Office Files, 1970s-2010s (Addition of March 2019)

1000 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 103551

Records include awards, speeches, contracts, and correspondence related to the development, publication, and recognition of the Mini Page, a scrapbook of appreciation letters and photographs, and letters from readers who are chiefly children.

Box 16	Office files, 1970s-2010s
Oversize Volume SV-05437/45	Scrapbook, 2000s

Expand/collapse Items Separated

Oversize volumes (SV-5437/1-45)
Data digital video disc (DDVD-5437/1-36)
Oversize papers (OPF-05437/1-9)

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Collection Number: 05437 Collection Title: Mini Page Collection, 1969-2010s

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

Expand/collapse Historical Information

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

Expand/collapse Series 1. Mini Page Volumes, 1969-2007.

Expand/collapse Series 2. Other Mini Page Publications and Products, 1980-2009.

Folder 4

Folder 5

Folder 12

Folder 13

Folder 14

Expand/collapse Series 3. Data Digital Video Discs, 1996-2007.

Expand/collapse Series 3A. Data Digital Video Discs, 1997-2004 (Addition of November 2013)

Expand/collapse Series 4A. Contest and Survey Materials, 1979-2003 (Addition of March 2012)

OPF-05437/1

OPF-05437/2

OPF-05437/5

OPF-05437/6

OPF-05437/7

OPF-05437/8

OPF-05437/9

Expand/collapse Series 5A. Office Files, 1971-2007 (Addition of January 2016)

Expand/collapse Series 5A. Office Files, 1972-2005 (Addition of October 2017)

Collection Number: 05437

Collection Title: Mini Page Collection, 1969-2010s