University of Minnesota
Department of English
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Department of English

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University of Minnesota Libraries

The University of Minnesota Libraries represent one of Minnesota’s greatest intellectual and capital assets. Housed in five major facilities and eleven branch sites, the library system comprises over 6 million print volumes, 37,000 serial subscriptions, 5 million microforms, 3 million government documents, and 397,000 maps, making it the 16th largest research library in North America. The Libraries employ 400 staff, 100 of whom are librarians, and they circulate more than 1 million items annually to students, faculty, and staff.

To support such a large and complex institution as the University of Minnesota, the Libraries acquire, catalog, and maintain information in practically every field of knowledge, in every language, from every time period, and in every conceivable format. The Libraries have outstanding collections in the history of medicine, social welfare, computing, architecture, American literature, African American literature, children's literature, history of European expansionism, cartography, British colonialism in India, Scandinavian studies, forestry, engineering and technical standards, and federal and international government documents. The Libraries serve Minnesota and South Dakota as the regional depository for all publications distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

The Libraries provides computerized access to the Libraries' collections and serves as a gateway to local, national, and global information sources. MNCAT, the libraries' online catalog, provides a nearly complete listing of book and journal holdings. The University Libraries subscribe to over 20,000 full text online journals, searchable through the article indexes listed on the home page. The newest library initiatives include the SMART Learning Commons, which offers free academic support at three library locations, and the Digital Library Development Lab (DLDL), which develops the architecture, tools, and interfaces that integrate information resources and services into the Libraries' digital library and the University's educational and research environments.

The links below will lead you to some of the services that may be of special interest to graduate students in English.

Special Collections

The University of Minnesota Libraries own several special collections which may be of interest to students of British and American literature:

Special Collections and Rare Books, Andersen Library
Includes collections of Renaissance emblem books, seventeenth-century English history, nineteenth-century literary annuals and gift books, and Sherlock Holmes books and memorabilia.

The Givens Collection of African American Literature, Andersen Library
Collection of African American literature, including more than 3,000 books, scripts, and pamphlets dating from 1773 to the present. Represented authors include the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Phyllis Wheatley, Charles Chestnutt, Ralph Ellison, W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Booker T. Washington, Maya Angelou, Taylor Gordon, and Zora Neale Hurston.

James Ford Bell Library, Wilson Library
Documents the history and impact of international trade prior to ca. 1800 C.E. The premier collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts illustrates the ways in which European cultural influences expanded worldwide, and how Europe, in turn, was influenced by other cultures around the globe.

Manuscripts Division, Andersen Library
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. Holds the Frederick Manfred papers, records of the Henry Miller Literary Society of Minneapolis, the John Berryman papers, the James Wright papers, and the Star Trek scripts.

Kerlan Collection of Children's Literature and the Children's Literature Research Collection, Andersen Library
Strong collection of twentieth-century children's book illustrations, nineteenth-century American popular culture, American folklore, and eighteenth-century children's literature.

Bibliographic Services

Librarians build and manage the library collections with responsibilities divided by discipline or language, and sometimes by country. Malaika Grant is responsible for acquiring materials in all formats to support English and American literature. She welcomes your comments and suggestions. Like other subject specialists, she also speaks to classes and answers specialized reference questions. She also is available to assist graduate students in planning their research projects. The English and American Literature Subject Resource page provides guides to library holdings.