Note: The Department of Archives and Special Collections will be providing limited service the first week of January 2012. January 3-6 ASC will not be registering new researchers or pulling any materials for research use. Researchers who have registered with us by December 15 and have materials already available in the reading room will be accommodated. The reading room will be open 8:30-4:30 M-F beginning Monday, January 9. Wednesday and Thursday evening hours resume January 18.
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Andersen Horticultural Library
The Andersen Horticultural Library includes books and periodicals on horticulture, botany, natural history and landscape architecture. |
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Charles Babbage Institute
The Charles Babbage Institute is an archive and research center dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of information technology. |
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Children's Literature Research Collections
The Children's Literature Research Collections is an internationally recognized resource in the field of children's literature, which includes both the Kerlan Collection, and the Hess Collection. |
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Givens Collection of African American Literature
The Givens Collection of African American Literature is a rich collection of African American literature, biography, social science, art, notes, manuscripts, and inscriptions. |
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Immigration History Research Center
The Immigration History Research Center is dedicated to fostering research on and understanding of the history of the American immigrant. |
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James Ford Bell Library
The James Ford Bell Library is a collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts from ca. 400 to ca. 1800 that document the history and impact of international trade. |
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Kautz Family YMCA Archives
The YMCA Archives documents the work of the YMCA of the USA and local YMCAs it serves generally from the 1850s to the 1960s. It contains extensive information regarding programs in religion, education, physical education, sports and leisure. |
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Manuscripts Division
The Manuscripts Division collects, preserves, and provides access to material in three major collecting areas: the Performing Arts Archives, the Northwest Architectural Archives, and the Literary Manuscripts Collections. |
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Social Welfare History Archives
Social Welfare History Archives collects, preserves, and makes available the archives of voluntary-sector social service and social reform organizations and the personal papers of individual leaders in the field. |
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Special Collections and Rare Books
Special Collections and Rare Books serves as the University Libraries' general repository for items that require special attention because of age, value, or fragility. |
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The Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies houses over 30,000 items in a wide variety of media. The collection is international in scope and has materials in approximately 56 languages. |
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University Archives
University Archives collects, maintains, and provides access to historical and legal documents of the University of Minnesota. These holdings, which include books, blueprints, memorabilia, audio/video tapes, and more than 90,000 photographs, serve as the collective memory of the University of Minnesota. |
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Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
The Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives (UMJA) located within the Social Welfare Archives suite at the University of Minnesota's Elmer L. Andersen Library contain important institutional and organizational archival holdings of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM). |
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Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine
The Owen H. Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine is a collection of rare books and manuscripts dating from the early 1400s to 1920. Subject concentrations are medicine, both broad and specific, biology, and natural history. |
Research Help
You are encouraged to consult with staff members about your research needs and procedural questions. We provide a range of research service to on-site and remote researchers. For information about the collection or to make an appointment please contact the specific unit.
Staff will help identify sources of information relevant to your interests but cannot undertake extensive research projects. In most cases, off-site research requests can only be answered if they are sufficiently specific, e.g., an individual book, a particular document, or the contents of a particular folder. When research is required to identify relevant material it will be conducted as staff time permits. If desired, we can refer you to an outside researcher for hire who establish his/her own rates.
Reading Room
The Archives and Special Collections Reading Room is on the second floor of the Elmer L. Andersen Library (Room 215), and the Bell Library Reading Room is on the fourth floor of Wilson Library (Room 472). The Andersen Horticultural Library and Wangensteen Library maintain their own readng rooms at the Arboretum and Diehl Hall respectively.
In the Elmer L. Andersen Library, researchers should first visit the individual unit to discuss research topics and strategies and to request collection materials before proceeding to the 2nd floor reading room. Bell curator offices are adjacent to their Reading Room. Reading room policies and procedures are outlined on the back of the registration form.
Please note that retrieval of some materials not stored in readily accessible areas may take 24-48 hours. Appointments are recommended to ensure that staff can have all relevant materials available. Please contact the archival unit of specific interest to you to make an appointment.
Photoduplication
 Archives staff will provide photocopies of material at the researcher's expense when such duplication can be done without injury to the material and does not violate copyright restrictions or restrictions imposed by agreement with the donor. We do not duplicate entire archival collections, or all the text of individual books, manuscripts, or boxes of material. Use of personal copiers or scanners is prohibited. Contact the individual unit regarding use of cameras, digital cameras, and video cameras.
Copies are provided for the researcher's personal use only and are not to be transferred to another individual or institution without the permission of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. Provision of copies does not constitute permission to publish.
Please see the Archives and Special Collections website for further information on
photoduplication services and fees, and/or infomation on digitization.
Research Orientation Sessions
The Archives and Special Collections staff is pleased to work with instructors to have their classes use primary research materials in their course work. Orientation sessions introduce students to the Archives and Special Collections procedures and give an overview of our resources. For more specialized class sessions we work closely with faculty and instructors to identify and assemble materials for hands-on examination in a classroom setting.
 Orientation sessions provide general introductory information and a survey of our holdings including a discussion of major collections. Registration, proper handling of materials, research techniques, intellectual property principles, duplication fees, and feasible time lines are highlighted. Basic search strategies and tools, and useful tips to help students find materials and make the most of our rich resources are also included. Sessions can be tailored to include specific topics and other information as needed. Archivists and curators can also give informational seminars intended for a group of graduate teaching assistants or departmental faculty and staff who wish to incorporate primary source materials into their course work. These can be arranged to incorporate specific topics desired by the group.
Requesting a session
Staff can give a presentation in your classroom, or classes can be held on-site in the Elmer Andersen Library conference suite. Contact the individual unit as far in advance as is feasible to schedule a class session.
Classroom Instruction
 The University of Minnesota Libraries Archives and Special Collections welcomes faculty and staff to contact us about incorporating our expertise and resources into their instruction plan. We work with instructors to design assignments and create active learning exercises that encourage the research use of primary materials. Customized presentations on specific topics and based on original primary sources introduce undergraduate and graduate students to original research materials. A general orientation to finding and using resources is included.
Primary source documents can inspire as well as teach students to identify, define and solve problems by locating and critically evaluating information. Students learn to verify sources, track down connections, and find evidence from content and physical clues. Integrating research methodology and archival resources into assignments enhances student learning and fulfills student outcomes. Students learn to communicate effectively and understand the role of creativity, innovation, and discovery across disciplines. We have rich documentary sources, many of which have not been researched. Your students could make important discoveries!
We are happy to partner with our colleagues in the Archives and Special Collections division in the
Andersen Library to hold joint sessions to introduce students to primary and secondary sources.
Requesting a presentation
Staff can give a presentation in your classroom, or classes can be held on-site in the Elmer Andersen Library conference suite. Communicating with the instructors enables the staff to prepare materials ahead of time, understand the process behind the assignments and enhance the research work of the students. Advance arrangements and consultations are required for class visits and major classroom research assignments. Contact the unit as far in advance as possible to schedule a visit. Please provide your contact information, the proposed date and time of your visit, number of students, and background about your class.
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Finding AidsA finding aid is a guide to a group of archival records, personal papers, or manuscripts. It may be a brief summary or a detailed description and inventory. The finding aid describes the origin, extent, dates, contents, important topics, and organization of the records. It is a tool to help researchers determine if the records contain material of interest to them and exactly where that material is located.
To begin searching the Finding Aids - [click here]. |
Digital ConservancyThe University Digital Conservancy is a venue for faculty to deposit copies of their works for long-term preservation and open access centralized, searchable access to institutional digital resources.
To begin searching the Digital Conservancy - [click here]. |
MNCAT CatalogSearch here for print materials, videos, sound recordings, e-journals, databases, and indexes in Twin Cities campus libraries and special collections. Note that journals, magazines, databases, and indexes will be listed by title only, and individual articles will not be listed.
To begin searching the MNCAT Catalog - [click here]. |
The books, manuscripts, and artifacts here in the Elmer L. Andersen Library are unique among the most valuable cultural documents available anywhere. Ranging from four thousand year old Babylonian clay tablets, to the latest illustrated children's books. These internationally renowned collections have been brought together for the first time in a state of the art facility, named for Minnesota's premiere businessman, Statesman, and bookman.
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Elmer L. Andersen Research Scholars Program
Applications are now being accepted for the Elmer L. Andersen Research Scholars Program, which provides up to $2,000 for travel, housing, and other research related costs for scholarly research projects using materials from the Libraries' Archives and Special Collections. Learn more about application requirements and deadlines.
First Fridays is a series of guest speakers and lecture held on the first Friday of each month from August to June. [more info]
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