Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Why should I join? I don’t think of myself as a scholar. 

MISF exists to support research and scholarship both outside and inside institutions of higher education. Membership is open to persons or organizations who support our mission whether or not they consider themselves to be a scholar. We use the term “scholar” in the very broad sense of an individual who is involved in the pursuit of knowledge (a few examples could be those seeking to advance knowledge in local history, genealogy, sports statistics, automobiles, physics, or building techniques). Our members have extremely varied interests and backgrounds. For more information on why to join, see the MISF brochure or the member benefits page on this website

Q2: When are your meetings?

MISF holds monthly general meetings at 10am on the third Saturday of most months. Usually, there is no general meeting in Aug or Dec. We also hold monthly meetings of a changing list of study groups: for example, the Philosophy group currently meets on both Monday and Wednesday of the second or third week of the month at 7pm. See the calendar page on this website for a complete listing and meeting details.

Q3: Where does your support come from?

Most of our support comes from members. Members volunteer to serve on the Board, edit the Journal, organize meetings, and give presentations. The annual dues of $25 goes to support of the website, postage and printing of the journal, and occasional special projects. We also get money from contributions, fiscal agency fees, and occasionally from grants. See our entry on Guidestar for more information on MISF finances.

Q4: How can I contact you?

There are several ways to contact MISF:

(1) via the contact form on this website; 
(2) e-mail us at info@mnindependentscholars.org; 
(3) by U.S. mail to Minnesota Independent Scholars Forum, P.O. Box 80235, Lake Street Station, Minneapolis MN 55408-8235

Q5: What are the requirements for membership?

Membership is open to anyone who supports research and the pursuit of knowledge (both outside and inside institutions of higher education).

Q6: Can I advertise in your publication?

MISF does not normally accept advertisements in its publications. If you have a proposal for advertising that is compatible with the mission of the organization, you may submit a proposal for consideration by the MISF Board.

Q7: Can I link to your site?

We are happy to have other organizations and individuals link to our website and pages within our site (when linking to internal pages, please be aware that we may occasionally reorganize, causing your links to break). We would appreciate a courtesy e-mail to webmaster@mnindependentscholars.org informing us of the link.

Q8: What is your privacy policy?

As of 4/25/12, MISF does not publish any information about authors or presenters beyond what they specifically authorize us to indicate in meeting announcements or the Journal. We do not capture any information about visitors to the website. Meeting attendees may provide their contact information if they wish MISF to contact them. We do not have a publicly available member directory but we do provide contact information regarding members to other members, unless specifically told not to. We do publish contact information for those people who may need to be contacted about the organization. MISF does not provide its mailing list to any external party for any purpose.