Tim Johnson believes libraries aren’t just made of stacks of books and rare collections. They’re more about the people.

His own web of connections spans three generations at the University of Minnesota, his father, his aunt and uncle, and both his sons, all graduates of the university.

“My part of this story, as a proud graduate of The Library School, differs only in the sense that I got to come back and be a part of this glorious institution. It is a beloved community,” Johnson said. “For more than a quarter-century, I have been a steward of world-class collections. It has been an honor and a privilege to do so.”

Johnson officially retired this past October after 27 years as the Curator of Special Collections and Rare Books and 15 years as the E. W. McDiarmid Curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collections.

“The University of Minnesota holds a deep and abiding place in our family’s history,” he said. “I think there’s something divine in those connections.”

From Minnesota and Back Again

Johnson developed a love for history and theology from his father, a pastor. He was born in Paynesville, Minnesota, but his family moved around, from Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin, and finally Colorado.

When Johnson graduated from high school, he moved to Chicago to attend North Park University, where he studied history. He thought about becoming a teacher, but soon decided to enroll in the University of Minnesota’s Library School.

Johnson married his wife Beth before starting library school. They had two sons, Jerod and Joel, and a daughter, Clarisa. His first job was as an instructional services librarian at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois, about halfway between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Three years later, Johnson was promoted to library director and began working part-time as a medical librarian for Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital (where all three of his children were born).

He stayed at Barat College for six years until accepting a position at his alma mater as its director of archives. While there, he obtained a master’s degree in theological studies and church history.

Although they enjoyed their time in Illinois, he and Beth wanted to move to the Twin Cities to be closer to their families in Minnesota and Iowa. Johnson applied for a position as the curator of the Special Collections and Rare Books at the U of M’s Archives and Special Collections.

The curator of Special Collections and Rare Books manages books and other materials written or published over a 4,000-year span, everything from papyri and cuneiform tablets to novels published just a few months ago.

The search committee initially told him that he wouldn’t be interviewed for the position, but changed their minds at the last minute. Johnson attended the interview jet-lagged and exhausted from a recent trip to Israel, but his bid was successful.

Curating the World’s Greatest Detective

Two months into his new job at the university, Johnson decided to attend the Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota’s 50th anniversary conference, “Founder’s Footprints.” The Explorers are a local branch of the Baker Street Irregulars, a society dedicated to the study and appreciation of Sherlock Holmes.

Johnson was a Sherlockian before the conference. He grew up on the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies and “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” TV show, starring Jeremy Brett and David Burke.

“I realized there was a whole nother level of engagement with the Sherlockian world,” he said. “Now it’s a major part of my professional and personal identity.”

Johnson quickly read the Sherlock canon in preparation for the conference. His favorite story is “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” because it has espionage and submarines, two subject areas he loves to explore and collect in.

But he loves The Hound of the Baskervilles too. “It’s everyone’s favorite at some point,” he said. He’ll also focus on any Sherlock story that mentions railroad lines, schedules, and timetables; it’s a deep rabbit hole of research.

Johnson became the endowed curator of the Sherlock Holmes Collection in 2010 and has been its steward for half of its lifespan. The collection celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with an exhibit featuring 50 rare items, including four copies of the first published Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet.

While he’s no longer at the helm of the Sherlock Holmes Collection, he knows it will continue to serve as the world’s center for the study and appreciation of Mr. Holmes and his place in popular culture.

But there are still major acquisitions that need to be processed and made available to the public, including a large chunk of audiovisual materials. Johnson hopes these processing projects will be completed in the next five years so that people around the globe – educators, researchers, and Sherlockians alike – can experience the wider world of fiction’s greatest detective.

“Beyond that five year horizon, I hope we expand the Collections in ways that reflect an ever-growing international fandom, especially as seen in the dynamically creative LGBTQ+ communities,” he said.

He also wants to aggressively position the collections in research and teaching, especially in disciplines of English, Popular Culture, and Victorian Studies, continue the triennial international Sherlock conferences, and forge stronger connections with collections in England and Canada, so the Sherlock Holmes Collections can “truly shine as the world’s center for all things Holmes.”

A New Kind of Stewardship

Goodbyes are never easy, but Johnson won’t be bored. He plans to spend a lot more time with his kids and grandkids. And like any librarian, there’ll be plenty of reading and writing. But recently, he’s turned his attention to the woods.

He and his wife bought 40 acres of woods and wetlands north of the Twin Cities. The two are working with a state-accredited forester and have created a 10-year plan for improving the wildlife habitat, removing invasive species, and restoring the land to an oak savannah.

“It’s interesting to see that I’ve moved from stewarding amazing book and archival collections to thinking and working toward the future as we care for this beautiful land,” Johnson said.

But he does have parting words for the future of the Libraries. He hopes that our innovative staff will continue to be financially and intellectually supported, that we will find creative collaborations with our Big Ten colleagues, but most importantly, “that everything we do will reflect the joy and care we celebrate in our work.”

Johnson remembers growing up in the shadow of the Cold War, watching trains loaded with military equipment snaking south along Florida’s east coast. “Those were perilous times, as are these,” he said. But he also remembers the kindness of Mr. Rogers and the warm glow of his neighborhood.

“Be kind to one another. Welcome the stranger. Walk humbly and love justice. Inscribe the kindness of Mr. Rogers on your hearts, just as you have inscribed your very being onto mine,” he said.