Laurence McKinley Gould Library

Northfield, MN | November 2018–March 2019

The Laurence McKinley Gould Library is an active participant in Carleton College’s mission to provide an exceptional undergraduate liberal arts education. We build collaborative partnerships that enrich the intellectual climate of the campus. We create an atmosphere that sparks curiosity, discovery, and the pursuit of knowledge. In fulfillment of our teaching mission, we develop services and collections that are flexible and responsive to the needs of Carleton College, and we foster a culture of inclusiveness that respects the diversities of our community. We strive to do all of this in a manner that is welcoming and safe; that encourages and values intellectual freedom; and that empowers students with the lifelong capacity for information literacy necessary for continued growth.

Gullkistan, Center for Creativity

Laugarvatn, Iceland | July 2018

Gullkistan’s goal is to provide a home and workspace for creative people in an international community in the sublime surroundings of south Iceland where they can work on their ideas and become a part of Icelandic culture locally and in a wider spectrum as each one of them prefers. The Gullkistan residency was founded in spring 2009 and is now run all year round. The guests so far are visual artists as well as writers, musicians, designers, photographers, filmmakers and scientists.

Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection

Walker Art Center | Minneapolis, MN | November 2017–April 2018

Established in 1973 to further the appreciation and scholarly study of the art of film, the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection at the Walker Art Center serves as a basis for explorations into the history of cinema and the aesthetic and theoretical properties of the medium. Not limited to one genre or era, the history is as diverse as its curators and programmers. The holdings consist of 16mm and 35mm films, as well as video and digital artworks.

Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization

Minneapolis, MN | October–November 2017

The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) works to protect and improve water quality, habitat, and natural resources in an urban watershed that drains directly into the Mississippi River. The MWMO encompasses nearly forty square miles of fully developed urban lands and waters. MWMO partners with communities and organizations to invest in green infrastructure that captures, cleans, and reuses stormwater runoff. Its team of engineers, naturalists, and outreach specialists monitors and tracks water quality in the watershed and conducts education and outreach to promote active environmental stewardship among residents.

Dickinson House

Flanders, Belgium | July 2017

Located approximately ninety minutes from Brussels, the mission of Dickinson House is to support writers at work by providing space and time away from the distractions and responsibilities of their daily lives. 

Reanimation Library

Queens Museum | New York, NY | August–September 2016

The Reanimation Library is an independent non-circulating library currently housed in the Studio Wing of the Queens Museum in New York City. The Reanimation Library is both an artist project and a functioning research library with an emphasis on visual information. The museum is founded by Andrew Beccone, an artist, librarian, and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. 

Silverwood Park

Saint Anthony, MN | February 2016

Part of the Three Rivers Park District, Silverwood Park is nestled between St. Paul and Minneapolis in St. Anthony Village. The 120-acre urban oasis has an arts and environmental focus, offering nature-inspired arts programming, gallery exhibitions, an amphitheater, and multiple outdoor sculpture installation areas. The mission of Three Rivers Park District is to promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system.

Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature

University of Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | November 2015–February 2016

The Givens Collection, part of the University of Minnesota Libraries, consists of over 10,000 books, magazines, and pamphlets by or about African Americans. With tens of thousands of archival and manuscript materials that document the history of black literature and culture—correspondence, pamphlets, screenplays, newspaper clippings, photographs, sheet music, ephemera, and the Penumbra Theatre Company Archives—the Givens Collection is an invaluable community and scholarly resource. Umbra: Search African American History (umbrasearch.org), a freely available search tool of more than 500,00 digitally available materials from over 500 U.S. archives, libraries, and museums, is created by the Givens Collection, in partnership with Penumbra Theatre Company.

The Floating Library

Saint Anthony, MN | July–August 2015

The Floating Library is an experimental public art project that introduces the creative genre of artists’ books and printed matter to people recreating on an urban lake. The Library is a project by Sarah Peters, an artist, writer, and art administrator who is interested in public engagement with the arts and critical issues of our time. On the streets she organizes public art projects such as the annual Northern Spark festival; in the studio she makes books; on the water she rows a handmade boat and dreams of turning the lakes of Minneapolis into a creative commons.

The Bakken Museum Library

Minneapolis, MN | July–August 2015

The Bakken Museum inspires a passion for science and its potential for social good by helping people explore the history and nature of electricity and magnetism. Founded in 1975 by Earl Bakken, co-founder of Medtronic, the Bakken maintains the world’s leading collection of books and artifacts on the history of electricity in life. The Bakken’s library collections include approximately 11,000 books, journals, and manuscripts, largely related to the history of electricity and magnetism with a focus on their roles in the life sciences and medicine, including works in early physics (natural philosophy), magnetic cures, mesmerism, animal magnetism, and hypnotism, as well as works on the history of para-psychology, psychical research, and phrenology. The Bakken’s instrument collection comprises approximately 2,500 artifacts from the 18th century to the present, including electrostatic generators, magneto-electric generators, medical stimulators, induction coils, recording devices, cardiac pacing devices, and more. To learn more, visit thebakken.org. 

Sun Ray Library

Saint Paul, MN  | March–April 2015

The newly renovated Sun Ray branch of the Saint Paul Public Library system offers a refreshed collection of mostly new books, CDs, and DVDs as well as computer classes, job search assistance, story times, homework help, reading tutoring, and Createch, a creative/technology space for teens. The library now features an additional 2,500 square feet of indoor public space, an outdoor reading garden, a quiet reading room, flexible study/meeting rooms, and a 900 square-foot community room with bathrooms and after-hours access.

Opus Archives & Research Center

Santa Barbara, CA | March 2015

Located on the campuses of the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, OPUS is a dynamic center for research and inquiry in the fields of depth psychology, mythology and the humanities. Visit www.opusarchives.org for more information.

Poets House

Battery Park City, Manhattan, NY | October 2014

Founded in 1985 by the late U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz and arts administrator Elizabeth Kray, Poets House documents the wealth and diversity of modern poetry and stimulates public dialogue on issues of poetry in culture. Poets House is located at 10 River Terrace in Battery Park City, NY. Free and open to the public, Poets House’s collection is among the most comprehensive, open-stacks collections of poetry in the United States. Visit poetshouse.org for more information.

Hennepin County Library–Ridgedale 

Minnetonka, MN | October–November 2014

Hennepin County Library launched in 1922; its headquarters are at Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

The library is committed to serving as Hennepin County’s partner in lifelong learning with programs for babies to seniors, new immigrants, small business owners and students of all ages.

Hennepin County Library–Central 

Minneapolis, MN | August–September 2014

Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli to reflect residents’ civic pride and deep commitment to education and literacy, Hennepin County Library–Central offers nearly 100 percent access to its collection, the center of the third largest per capita public library collection of any major city in America with a collection of more than 2.4 million items—including books, DVDs, music, government documents and more.

Little Poetry Library

Minneapolis, MN | July–August 2014

The Little Poetry Library, located outside of the Blue Moon Coffee Cafe, was created by poet Carolyn Williams-Noren, with support from a Minnesota State Arts Board grant. The Little Free Libraries, which have roots in Wisconsin, are intended to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. 

Minneapolis Institute of Arts Library

Minneapolis, MN  | May–June 2014

Established with the museum’s opening in 1915, the MIA’s Art Research & Reference Library is one of the Midwest’s premiere research centers dedicated to the study of art. The library’s holdings provide special collection and rare printed materials as well as digitized texts/images and cutting-edge online research tools. Spanning the world’s history of art, the library’s remarkable collection of more than 60,000 volumes continues to grow.

Hennepin County Library–Northeast

Minneapolis, MN | April–May 2014

Hennepin County Library–Northeast is centrally located in a busy commercial area and thriving arts district of northeast Minneapolis. The library has been open in its current location since 1973. It was fully renovated in 2011. Prior locations were at 24th and Central avenues (1907–1915) and 22nd and Central avenues (1915-1973). The library’s current 16,900 square feet include a community meeting room, quiet corners for reading and study, 38 public computers, and an interactive early literacy space for young children.

Quatrefoil Library

Minneapolis, MN | February 2014 /

The Quatrefoil Library is one of the few GLBT lending libraries in the country. Quatrefoil’s extensive collection includes thousands of books, DVDs, videos, compact disks/audiotapes, newsletters, and periodicals reflecting GLBT and Queer experiences, including Twin Cities, regional, national and international publications.

The American Swedish Institute

Minneapolis, MN | January 2014

The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a vibrant arts and cultural organization, museum, and historic home located at 2600 Park Avenue near downtown Minneapolis. ASI attracts more than 65,000 people each year for tours of the landmark 1908 Turnblad Mansion, exhibits, classes and events that connect the community to contemporary Nordic culture and cultural heritage. Founded in 1929 by Swedish immigrant newspaper publisher Swan J. Turnblad, ASI serves as a gathering place for people to share stories and experiences around universal themes of tradition, migration, craft and the arts, all informed by enduring ties to Sweden.  In 2013, the Wall Street Journal called ASI “[a] model of how a small institution can draw visitors through exciting programming.”

Minnesota Historical Society’s Gale Family Library

Saint Paul, MN | October 2013

This collection of 500,000 volumes is particularly strong in the areas of early Minnesota imprints; histories of Minnesota counties, communities, churches, schools, and organizations; directories, atlases, and plat books of the state; Minnesota family histories and genealogical reference materials; histories and trade catalogs of Minnesota businesses; and local labor and political organizations. The Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and Canadian history are also strongly represented in the collection. Materials on American Indians of the Upper Midwest and their early contact with European and American explorers and missionaries can support the highest levels of research.

The library contains the largest collection in the world of Minnesota fiction and works from local private presses. It also holds nearly every newspaper published in the state, with the possible exception of some foreign-language titles and issues.

American Craft Council Library

Minneapolis, MN | July 2013

The American Craft Council Library, in addition to 15,000 books, 100 current periodical subscriptions, and 3,000 files on individual artists, houses four archival collections: the Council’s archive (1941-present), the Museum of Contemporary Crafts archive (1956-1990), the World Crafts Council archive (1964-present) and the Craft Students League archive (1932-2005). Each of these collections, including the artists’ files, contain rare photographs and documents recording exhibitions, conferences, meetings, workshops and other critical events in the contemporary craft movement. The American Craft Council is located in the historic Grain Belt Brewery building in NE Minneapolis.

Walker Art Center Resource Library

Minneapolis, MN | May 2013

Walker Art Center’s Library is one of a small number of libraries in the United States devoted exclusively to modern art. Its holdings reflect the museum’s collections of sculpture, painting, prints, and photography, as well as its programming in architecture and design, dance, film, performance, and video. The Library contains a comprehensive collection of books, exhibition catalogues, periodicals, and a clipping file on twentieth-century artists. There are 8,000 monographs and 30,000 catalogues from exhibitions held in the United States and Europe from the 1940s to the present.