Collections

 

Jae Yates leads Phase III for the Tretter Collection

The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project has a new oral historian who’s bringing community organizing to the forefront of its mission to collect and preserve the stories of trans people across the city and state. Jae Yates is a longtime activist for racial justice and trans rights. As the new oral historian, leading Phase III of the project, Yates plans to broaden the Tretter’s catalog of trans activists, including those in intersectional groups.

E-book collections on OverDrive and Libby

Librarian Malaika Grant has developed searchable e-book and audiobook collections on OverDrive, and its companion app, Libby, that help our students, staff, and faculty find materials by topic of interest. These collections — National Poetry Month, Arab American Authors, World Literature in Translation, New Black Fiction, Black Lives, Antiracist Reading, Read Banned Books, Disability Pride Month, 50 Years of Hip-Hop, and Mental Health and Wellness — align with our goals to diversify our materials and to highlight items for heritage months.

New RapidILL system improves Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary Loan is using a new system for fast delivery of articles and book chapters called RapidILL.

• In FY23, the RapidILL system delivered 11,472 requested documents to students, staff and faculty.
• Rapid member libraries are from all over the world, increasing our international lenders by over 400%.

FY23 Interlibrary Loan requests and fulfillment:

• 40,036 requests
• 37,527 (94%) filled
  • Out of these, 2% were canceled by the patron, 2% no library could supply, and less than 1% are still in process.

BIG Collection resource sharing

The Big Ten Academic Alliance libraries are working towards the BIG Collection initiative, a networked approach to managing the collections of the Big Ten university libraries as a single collection — which would make it the third largest library collection in the world. Underscoring the collective strength of the BTAA, 65% of our interlibrary loan requests were filled by Big Ten libraries.

Free open access publishing

Open access publishing is now free for U of M authors when they publish in Wiley journals. As part of a multi-year (2023–2025) agreement between the Big Ten Academic Alliance and Wiley, Article Publication Charges will be waived for responsible corresponding authors (lead authors) from the U of M campuses of the Twin Cities, Rochester, Duluth, and Morris.

Notable acquisitions

The Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives acquired the Temple Israel (Duluth, Minn.) records. Temple Israel currently stands as the only full-service synagogue in Northern Minnesota. It began in 1969 with the merger of Temple Emanuel, founded in 1891, and Tifereth Israel, founded in 1893. The collection consists of materials dating between 1909 and 2011 and includes correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, bulletins, meeting minutes, newsletters, and more.

The Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine acquired “The story of the New Home Sanitarium,” published circa 1915, a promotional viewbook of the first Black-owned and Black-operated hospital in the United States. The viewbook includes illustrations of the hospital’s exterior, operating room, African American staff at work, private rooms, the drug room, the reception room, the men’s ward, the labor room, the nurse’s room, and Dr. Alonzo Kenniebrew’s private office. This publication, significant to Black history and to the history of medicine in the United States, is an extremely rare acquisition, and it’s possible we are the only library worldwide with a copy.

The Social Welfare History Archives acquired:

• The Hyun Sook Han papers, a significant collection for the history of transnational adoption. Born in Korea, Hyun Sook Han became a social worker, immigrated to the United States, and was a significant figure in the transnational adoption program and post adoption services at the Children’s Home Society of Minnesota. The collection includes records of her work at CHSM, personal and professional letters and photographs, and personal cards and letters received from adopted individuals and adopting families.
• The papers of local filmmaker Kathleen Laughlin. The 30 boxes of resource files and videotapes relate to the topic of intimate partner violence and Laughlin’s work on the unfinished film, “We Will Harbor You: Minnesota’s Battered Women’s’ Movement.” The materials document the St. Paul’s Woman’s Advocates shelter, the history of the anti-domestic violence movement, and 40 years of Minnesota women’s leadership and creativity.
• A collection of Portuguese language social work books from Prof. Dr. Maria Alexandra da Silva Monteiro Mustafá from the Department of Social Work from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil. She provided these materials after spending three months at the Social Welfare History Archives researching the history of the International Association of Schools of Social Work in the Association records.

The Children’s Literature Research Collections acquired original artwork by illustrator James Ransome, oil on canvas, from the book “Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)” by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, published in 1991.

Mike Reuwsaat and Priscilla Storm donated their collection to the Kautz Family YMCA Archives in November 2022. The collection centers around the YMCA’s work with the United States Armed Services — a relationship that dates back to 1861 when YMCA volunteers provided relief and comfort to soldiers during the American Civil War. The collection includes various items, such as pocket hymnals, Bibles, and pamphlets that were distributed to soldiers spanning from the Civil War era to World War II, including a set of books printed by the YMCA for German Prisoners of War. Other memorabilia includes World War I-era gas masks, a baseball bat, as well as games like checkers and chess sets that were given to soldiers during both World War I and II.

The James Ford Bell Library has acquired “Ezo Ship Routes Illustrated,” a well-illustrated and densely informative manuscript on the trade and shipping routes near the island of Hokkaido in Japan. It documents trade in herring, kelp, ironware, tobacco, rice, sake, clothing, and weapons. It offers insight into the merchant-controlled contract-fishery system; it also documents the extent of the tobacco trade from the Americas. This is an early 19th-century copy of a 17th-century atlas.

The James Ford Bell Library has acquired a collection of late 17th- and 18th-century materials that builds on the library’s holdings relevant to the trade of food and food products.The French language materials in this collection are already in use by scholars and will be among the many books used in a new course on French culture and society being developed by Professor Juliette Cherbuliez, Department of French & Italian.

The Performing Arts Archives has acquired the Larry Long Archive, which includes recordings, oral histories, media, posters, correspondence, national and local work with schools and communities, and personal writings that document his decades of songwriting and performing and artistic collaborations. Long is an award-winning performing artist whose ballads celebrate community and history makers. His work has taken him from urban and rural communities throughout Minnesota, rural Alabama, and the Lakota communities in South Dakota.