Aiden Bettine, he/him/his Curator of the Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies
- abettine@umn.edu
- Phone
- 612-624-7526
- Full position title(s)
- Curator of the Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
- Libraries department
- Tretter Collection
About
Aiden Bettine is the Curator of the Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries Archives and Special Collections. He is an archivist and public historian who researches and teaches local history pertaining to race, gender, and sexuality in the Midwest. Aiden holds Master’s degrees in both Library and Information Sciences and Critical Ethnic Studies. He is completing an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Public History and Archival Science at the University of Iowa. His dissertation, "To Collect Our Own Histories: Community Archiving in the Lesbian and Gay History Movement," explores the role of community archives building in the grassroots history movement that flourished as a form of activism in Gay Liberation, centering the history of Gerber/Hart Library and Archives in Chicago.
Aiden's community work prioritizes creating generative spaces for LGBTQ people to learn, share, and research our history. He co-runs Late Night Copies Press, an independent micro press in Minneapolis that publishes non-fiction and informal research-based writing with an emphasis on local queer and trans history and queer artists through zine and pamphlet formats. Prior to joining Archives and Special Collections as the Curator of the Tretter Collection in August of 2022, he founded the LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library, a community archives and lending library in Iowa City, IA. He also served as Community & Student Life Archivist at the University of Iowa.
Education
Masters of Arts in Library and Information Sciences, University of Iowa, 2020
Masters of Arts in Critical Ethnic Studies, DePaul University, 2017
Bachelor of Arts in History and African and Black Diaspora Studies, DePaul University 2015