Upper Midwest Jewish Archives Berman Fund

Purpose of fundraising

While the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives has grown in size, use, and visibility in the past nine years since the collection came to the University of Minnesota Libraries, there is still so much more that could be done. Currently, the Berman Fund only supports an archivist at 40% time, limiting their ability to fully support the growth of the collection and realize the vision of the collection’s founders. Annual distribution of a $2.5 million Berman Fund endowment will support salary and benefits of a full-time archivist for the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives collection in perpetuity.

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Overview

Collections in the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives are open to the public and are accessible at Elmer L. Andersen Library as part of the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

The collections document the lives of Upper Midwest Jewish communities from the mid-19th century to the present. This includes the everyday lives of families, Jewish-run businesses, religious communities, and advocacy organizations. Materials include books, institutional administrative records, synagogue records, rabbi papers, family papers, correspondence, personal publications, scrapbooks, photographs, moving images, and more.

Select highlights in the collection include:

• Documents dating from 1857 from Mount Zion Temple, Minnesota’s oldest congregation 
• Oral histories from Minnesotan Holocaust survivors
• Menus and recipes from Minneapolis favorite Lincoln Del
• Sermons from Rabbi Bernard Raskas, influential long-time Conservative rabbi in St. Paul
• Photographs and documents from Jack Sinykin, the first person in the United States to train guide dogs
• Hand-crafted scrapbooks from Sophie Wirth Camp
• Social outreach programs spearheaded by local charter-member chapters of National Council of Jewish Women

History of the archives

Learn more about the history of the archives, including their beginnings with the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest

About the building

The Upper Midwest Jewish Archives reside in Elmer L. Andersen Library, a state-of-the-art facility on the West Bank of campus

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Archivist's role

The role of the Archivist for the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives encompasses many aspects of work, and includes:

• actively curating the selection, acquisition, and management of archival collections, a concerted and sometimes lengthy process between Archivist and donor
• arranging large and small archival collections and preparing descriptive finding aids to make collections searchable and findable online
• providing consultation and research services for faculty, students, and public researchers whoa re interested in the collection
• conducting outreach through presentations and exhibits, as well as and hands-on instruction to campus and community
• contribute to the goals and strategic initiatives of the Libraries and University through leadership of and/or active participation on committees, working groups, and task forces, including advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of the position

Key examples of some of the work undertaken by the Archivist includes:

• Curating, co-curating, and participating in exhibits including “Sticks, Straw, and Mud”: Jewish Settlers in the Upper Midwest (2016),  A Campus Divided: Progressives, Anti-Communists, Racism, and Antisemitism at the University of Minnesota, 1930-1942 (2017), and A Woman’s Place: Women and Work (2019)
• Creating interactive digital humanities projects such as Minnesota's Synagogues: A History Map
• Presentations such as Just a dog and The Miracle of McKinley, as well as publishing articles such as Tikkun Olam: Jewish Women Serving their St. Paul Community

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Impact of your gift

A gift will allow the archivist to devote additional time to the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives. Once the full campaign goal of $1.3 million is reached and the archivist is able to dedicate 100% of their time to the collection, the archivist will be allowed more opportunities for:

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Feedback on the impact of the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives

Your work is fascinating and so important to our community—we can’t know where we are going unless we know where we’ve been.

Thank you so much. We appreciate your help and enthusiasm. This is my first time doing archives research, and I see why you have chosen it as a profession. It is exciting and moving to see the real materials, insider notes and letters, etc. which together encompass our community's history. I appreciate the care which your organization takes to ensure that the archives remain accessible and undamaged.

Thank you for the amazing visit! It was beyond what we hoped for, and the students just loved it! They thanked me for scheduling the visit and talked in the car...about how they want to visit the archive again. You made us feel so welcome, and your introduction to archival work was wonderful…. I'm reading the archive report and reflection that my students wrote for today, and they are stunning. They really show how much the students appreciated the visit and how much they learned from it.

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Give now

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Questions or more information

For questions about the collections with the Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, contact Archivist Kate Dietrick at diet0134@umn.edu or 612-625-0192.

For financial questions about giving, contact Director of Development Heather Beaton at hbeaton@umn.edu or 612-624-8207.

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