Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies

Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies
Map
LocationElmer L. Andersen Library, Suite, 222 - 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Established2000
Other information
DirectorAiden Bettine
Websitewww.lib.umn.edu/tretter

The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies is a collection of LGBT historical materials housed in the Special Collections and Rare Books section of the University of Minnesota Libraries. It is located underground in the Elmer L. Andersen special collections facilities on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. The Tretter Collection houses over 40,000 items, making it the largest LGBT archive in the Upper Midwest and one of the largest GLBT history collections in the United States.[1][2] The collection, which was created by Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, is international in scope and is varied in media.

Collection

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Burnt remains of book, "Le Marquis de Sade et Son Temps" which survived the Nazi book burnings of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft.

Although books are the core of the collection (including a large holding of gay pulp fiction), substantial sections include textiles, glassware, film, music, art works, and three-dimensional objects such as statuary, event buttons, and furniture. The collection includes unpublished manuscripts, vertical files, and periodicals in approximately 56 languages.[3][4] Much of the material is from people and organizations in the United States during the last third of the twentieth century.

Among the significant archival holdings are:

The collection was started by Jean-Nickolaus Tretter, a Minnesota-born archivist, in the 1950s, and donated to the University of Minnesota Libraries in the early 200s when the collection grew large enough to be a fire hazard in his home.[6]

Selected items from the collection and timelines are frequently assembled and displayed worldwide. Recent displays have been at the Motor City Pride in Michigan in 2007 and 2009, and the first Moscow Pride festival in May 2006.

In 2005, the collection started its official newsletter, The Tretter Letter.[7]

In 2006, The Tretter Collection, the University of Minnesota Libraries, and the Quatrefoil Library presented the first GLBT ALMS (Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections) Conference in Minneapolis.[8][9][10]

Tretter Transgender Oral History Project

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The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project (TTHOP) is a special collection of the Tretter Collection dedicated to preserving transgender life histories in the United States. The interviews are available in English, and access to the recordings and transcripts is public and free.

The TTHOP was founded in 2015 by Andrea Jenkins who sought to shift the public conversation around trans people by documenting their lived experiences.[11] Together, the oral histories fill in gaps of the wider Tretter Collection, which contains extensive materials on white cisgender gay men but little on trans people, especially trans people of color.[12] The TTHOP contains over two hundred recordings of in-person and virtual interviews with trans individuals, making it one of the largest trans archives in the world.

The TTHOP's mission statement reads as follows: "The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project (TTOHP) is committed to collecting, preserving, and making available oral histories of gender transgression, broadly understood through a trans framework."[13]

Phase 1 interviews

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The TTHOP's phase 1 was led by Andrea Jenkins, who also served as the interviewer for nearly all the conversations. 175 in-person interviews were conducted from 2015 to 2018. This phase was centered on trans and gender nonconforming people residing in the upper Midwest and with a focus on those most erased from historical memory, including trans people of color and trans elders.[14]

The interview questions were mainly interested in the personal lives and gender transition journeys of the trans individuals. Frequent themes that emerge include:

Famous individuals featured include CeCe McDonald, Laverne Cox, Aidan Key, Eli Clare, Tiq Milan, and more.

Phase 2 interviews

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The TTHOP's phase 2 was led by Myrl Beam, and it was conducted from 2019 to 2021. This collection of 68 interviews focuses on the stories of trans activists. Documenting the "transformative power of trans movements," this phase is "grounded in the belief that trans movements for justice are about more than rights: they are about survival, and about creating a new, more fabulous, more livable, and more expansive world––one not structured by racialized gender norms."[15]

With an explicitly political focus, the second phase mainly asks interviewees to connect their personal life experiences with trans politics and other social movements. Frequent themes that emerge include:

Famous individuals interviewed include Dean Spade, Marci Bowers, Masen Davis, and more.

Funding

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The TTHOP is largely funded by the Tawani Foundation. Other funders include the Headwaters Foundation for Justice Community Innovation Grant, the Humanities Innovation Lab at the Minnesota Humanities Center, and individual donors.

Awards, honors and media recognition

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In 2016, The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection was the inaugural recipient of the Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence in Library Services and Outreach to the GLBT Community.[16]

"The Newlen-Symons Award recognizes the tremendous impact of the Tretter Collection and its leadership in collecting and preserving the record of the GLBT community, from the University of Minnesota campus and beyond," said American Library Association President Sari Feldman. "Through preservation, collection development and advocacy, the Tretter Collection embodies how libraries can transform lives and communities."[17]

In 2017, The Tretter Collection won the Diversity Award presented by the Society of American Archivists. The Society of American Archivists annually recognizes outstanding contributions, leaders, and achievers in advancing diversity within the archives profession. Tretter was honored for its dedication to filling in the gaps of the GLBT archival record and for striving to include marginalized voices from within the GLBT community.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marcotte, Mike (2020-10-08). "Serve Our Society: Tretter Collection | Lavender Magazine". Lavender Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-06-13. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  2. ^ Birkey, Andy (10 November 2010). "Tretter Collection Celebrates 10 Years of Preserving LGBT Community". The Column. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Log Cabin Will House Its Archival Material at the University of Minnesota's Tretter Collection". Georgia Log Cabin. Retrieved 25 February 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Lavender Legacies Guide: United States: Minnesota". Society of American Archivists. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Collection: Stuart Ferguson Papers". archives.lib.umn.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  6. ^ Jackson, Zoë. "Jean Tretter, local LGBTQ archivist and advocate, dies". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  7. ^ "Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts" (PDF). University of Minnesota Libraries. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-03-15. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  8. ^ "GLBT ALMS 2006 Conference Program". GLBT ALMS 2006 Conference Program. 2006.
  9. ^ Cook, Elizabeth (2006-05-24). "Anderson Library Hosts International GLBT Materials Archiving Conference". Minnesota Daily. Archived from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  10. ^ Keim, Adam (2008). "Chapter 7 : In conclusion". History of Quatrefoil Library (PDF). Golden Valley, MN: Friends of the Bill of Rights Foundation. pp. 104–105. ISBN 9780966882827. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  11. ^ Golden, Erin. “Former Minneapolis Council Aide Brings Transgender Issues to the Forefront.” Star Tribune, April 27, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160408204635/http://www.startribune.com/former-mpls-council-aide-brings-transgender-issues-to-the-forefront/301372761/.
  12. ^ Vecoli, Lisa. “The Tretter Collection: What We Have, What’s Missing, and the Challenges of Trans History.” TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly 2, no. 4 (November 1, 2015): 607–13. https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-3151529.
  13. ^ “The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project.” University of Minnesota Libraries. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special/tretter/transgender-oral-history-project.
  14. ^ “The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project.”
  15. ^ “The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project.”
  16. ^ SBIRES (2017-07-21). "The Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence". Round Tables. Archived from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
  17. ^ HCHO (2016-01-15). "GLBTRT selects the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries for the Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence". News and Press Center. Archived from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  18. ^ "2017 Fellows and Award Recipients | Society of American Archivists". www2.archivists.org. Archived from the original on 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
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