Library Overview

The completion of the Elmer L. Andersen Library in 2000 brought together 11 distinct collecting entities as the Department of Archives and Special Collections. Underground caverns tunneled into the bluffs above the Mississippi River house nearly 93,000 cubic feet of materials in state-of-the-art environmental conditions. In addition to the James Ford Bell Library featured in this volume, the collections encompass an extensive array of subject areas. The Charles Babbage Institute Archives documents the history of information technology with an extensive collection of oral histories available online. The Children's Literature Research Collections include the Kerlan Collection of manuscripts and original illustrations and the Hess Collection of dime novels. The Immigration History Research Center documents migration, with rich materials from ethnic groups originating in eastern, central, and southern Europe and the Near East. Records of the Kautz Family YMCA Archives encompass national and international Y materials. Records of voluntary-sector social service and social reform organizations and leaders in the field can be found in the Social Welfare History Archives. The Manuscripts Division houses the Northwest Architectural Archives, inlcuding the records of Prairie School architects Purcell and Elmslie; the Performing Arts Archives, which holds the records of the Minnesota Orchestra and Guthrie Theater; the Upper Midwest Literary Collections, including the papers of Robert Bly, Frederick Manfred, and John Berryman; as well as a large collection of World War posters that are available online. Special Collections and Rare Books includes one of the world's largest collections of Sherlock Holmes, as well as political papers and small and fine-press books, and includes the Givens Collection of African American Literature and the Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies. University Archives round out the collections. Special collections in other locations include the Andersen Horticultural Library at the University's Landscape Arboretum and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine, as well as significant holdings in agricultural and life sciences libraries.

University of Minnesota
Elmer L. Andersen Library
222 21st Avenue S.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
http://special.lib.umn.edu/
(612) 626-5776 (t)
(612) 625-5525 (f)