Primary Sourcery

The Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA) at the University Libraries announces its 2023 Grant-in-Aid awardees and the Immigration History Research Center’s Michael G....

Entering Darren Terpstra’s office in Andersen Library feels like going backstage — but with Greek columns, a Chinese dragon head, and midcentury lamps, one is not sure which play will be performed.

On Dec. 9, 2022 we lost a giant. Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, avid collector and founder of the Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, died. At 76 years of age, Jean left an indelible mark on LGBTQ history thanks to his persistent collecting of LGBTQ history that began in the 1970s.

As a feminist sociologist, I am fascinated by the notion of work — any format of exertion that sustains society and humanity, lives, and livelihoods.

As winter daylight fades and the cold wind fingers its way through tiny cracks into your abode, a feline companion may be appealing. If so, check out thees 10 cats for your catappreciation from various collections within the Libraries — UMedia, the James Ford Bell Library, and the Minnesota Digital Library.

The University of Minnesota's Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine has been awarded a Minnesota Historical & Cultural Heritage grant in the amount of $103,162. The funding will be used to provide “Access to Historical Healthcare Artifacts” currently in the Wangensteen collections but not yet available via its online catalog.

Until recently, faculty researchers might have asked an undergraduate or graduate student to carry out the grunt work of reviewing tons of content to excavate relevant articles. Now there's a text-mining tool for that work.

The Givens Collection is for everyone: Every child, every person, especially anyone who has been shoved to the back of the bus or to the margins of society.

Some topics in public health never go away, infectious disease and barriers to access to health care among them. In the recently digitized “A Public Health Journal” TV program (APHJ), dating from 1985-2004, and available online via UMedia, students, scholars, public health officials, and the members of the community can explore some of these evergreen issues.

Andrea Davis Pinkney — who has authored more than 50 books for children and young people, and has donated her drafts, research notes, and finished books to the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature — was honored with the 2022 Kerlan Award.

Fans new and old will get the chance to meet Sherlock Holmes, learn how he follows the clues, and take part in their own investigations, at the very interactive “Sherlock Holmes: The Exhibition,” hosted at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul starting Oct. 20. Artifacts, manuscripts, and other clues to the great detective and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — more than 100 of them from the U of M Libraries’ extensive Holmes-related collections — will be available for scrutiny. 

By Sandra Ayivor Spotlight on Research: Guest author Sandra Ayivor was awarded the Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA) Grant-in-Aid Award this year, and she...

“Drawn to Health: Bodies and Medicine in Popular Visual Culture” explores the historical and contemporary use of visual narratives to communicate about health, featuring collections held at both the Wangensteen Historical Library and the Children’s Literature Research Collections. Visit this exhibit now through December 29, 2022.

Renowned for its breadth and depth of works by children’s book authors and illustrators, The Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature mirrors the issues of its times. So when Kerlan curator Lisa Von Drasek was asked, “Does the Kerlan have any banned books?” she responded: “Of course we do!” Von Drasek adds: “The number one category of banned books is LGBTQ and sex education books.”

Our library collections are always growing, and the Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine is no exception. But how do you decide what still needs to be added? Come get a sneak peak at six books that the Wangensteen purchased in the last year, and learn more about our collection development mission.

Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894 — so, by now, we Americans should have the celebration of America’s workers down! At the University of Minnesota Libraries, we have a multitude of images and newspaper accounts related to Labor Day in our Archives and Special Collections. Check out this sampling.