News from the Libraries

Bezat and Lathrop in Elmer L. Andersen Library

How the Archives Began: A Brief Review

From its beginnings under founding curator Alan K. Lathrop, the Northwest Architectural Archives has grown to include more than 300 collections focused on individual architects and designers, architecture firms, contractors, suppliers, and developers in the five-state area. 

Teachers participating in a workshop sit at tables in a library classroom

New workshop improves AI literacy for K-12 educators

On June 11, 2026, the University of Minnesota Libraries, along with partners from the AI Hub and Academic Technology Support Services, hosted a full-day workshop titled “AI Literacy for K-12 Educators” at Walter Library.

Cheryll Fong, portrait

Curator’s Note – Renderings: The Summer Issue, 2026

Welcome to the first edition of Renderings, the newsletter of the Northwest Architectural Archives. We’ll publish three to four times a year as a way to share the work we are doing and how researchers use our collections.

Actress Myrna Loy pictured next to two men as she receives an award

Behind the legend

Daryl Richard Lawrence, 2026-27 Chair of the Library Senate Committee, shares more about his in-progress biography on American actress Myrna Loy and how he has utilized UMN Libraries resources in his research process. 

Daryl Richard Lawrence wearing a colorful striped cardigan posing for a headshot

A year of libraries and Loy

Daryl Richard Lawrence, 2026-27 Chair of the Senate Library Committee, kicks off a blog series sharing his experiences with UMN Libraries as well as his favorite resources, collections, and spaces.

Computer keyboard image with text Search to Synthesis: Library Research Workshops for Graduate Students

Search to Synthesis: Library Research Workshops for Graduate Students – Fall 2026

The UMN LIbraries' Search to Synthesis: Library Research Workshops for Graduate Students” series continues for Fall 2026. There are 21 different workshops covering citation tools, data, evidence synthesis, publishing journal articles and much more with 6 new ones: an orientation session for international graduate students, overview of impact factors and h-indexes, archival research, ways to "future-proof" your disserations, and two workshops on literature reviews. See "Library research workshops for graduate students" for full details and registration information. 

Student sits with dog in lap

PAWS study break is back at Wilson Library for fall semester

PAWS (Pet Away Worry & Stress) is back at Wilson Library for the ultimate west bank study break! Whether you need a quick dopamine boost between lectures or just want to cuddle a furry (or feathered) friend, drop in anytime to hang out with Boynton’s legendary registered therapy team. Yes, we actually have dogs, cats, and chicken!

Librarian at her computer holds up two copies of archival magazines with collections tags sticking out

Cataloging the tangled web of serialized novels

We all know the anticipation of waiting for the next episode of our favorite show to be aired. Or the next book in our favorite series to be published. This phenomenon is nothing new, and at the University of Minnesota Libraries (UMN Libraries), the Archives and Special Collections’ Cataloging Unit is making sure that the next story is at your fingertips.

Man in his office gesturing with his hand.

Expanding ecology with a free textbook and an international friendship

Professor Clarence Lehman’s open access ecology textbook, published by UMN Libraries Publishing, has sparked an international friendship of scholarly proportions. Since publication, it’s been viewed over 20,000 times and downloaded over 15,000 times. One of those readers was 24-year-old Solomon Freeman from Assin Tabil, Ghana. He’s a master’s student at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), studying to become an ecologist.

Long scanned document dense with text from leadership conference on civil rights

Contesting Control: Labor Certification, Civil Rights, and the Making of U.S. Immigration Policy

Spotlight on Research: Guest author Jian Gao was awarded a 2025 Grant-in-Aid Award at the Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA). He visited Andersen Library for five days to study sources on the transformation of US immigration laws in the second half of the 20th century from overt racial classifications to more subtle, birthplace-based systems. Jian Gao is Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University. 

Librarians sit around a table with computers open while listening to a presentation

Q&A: Four librarians share how they found community at the Minnesota Institute

For the past 28 years, the University of Minnesota has trained the next generation of library leaders, guiding them as they transform their libraries to better serve their communities, through the Minnesota Institute. Five alumni of the Minnesota Institute currently work here at the University of Minnesota Libraries. We asked them to share their experiences with the Institute and why a program like this is necessary for early-career librarians. The following responses have been edited for length and clarity.