Events
February First Fridays: Conversations from UMN's Archives and Special Collections
First Fridays: Sensory Experiences
Join us for the 2025-2026 season of First Fridays as we explore the things you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell in Archives and Special Collections. This first program in the First Fridays season features presentations from the University of Minnesota Archives and Archival Processing.
Light lunch at 11:30 a.m. Presentations begin at noon. A tour of the archival caverns will take place after the event concludes. ASL interpreters will be present for all First Fridays events.
Registration will open Jan. 2026
Our Ancestors Held This: Intergenerational Memory Transmission through Queer Archival Touch
Presented by Aiden Bettine, Curator, Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies
The Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies holds thousands of objects and millions of sheets of paper that LGBTQ people have made, held, written on, drawn on, worn, flown, treasured, and gifted to the community. The archival materials in Tretter are meant to be touched and held by younger generations of queer and trans people to transmit the knowledge of a deep rooted and robust community history. To touch is to make an underrepresented past tangible. This presentation will share the lessons we can learn when we enable touch in the Tretter Collection.
Instructions on Taste and Smell: Sensory Experience in the Premodern World
Presented by Marguerite Ragnow, Curator, James Ford Bell Library/Special Collections and Rare Books, and Anne Good, Assistant Curator, James Ford Bell Library
Exotic pineapples that smell like strawberries that taste like wine that mean hospitality and abundance – how did the experience of tasting and smelling intertwine and create meaning in the early modern world? This presentation will draw on travel narratives, recipes books, and merchant accounts, to consider ways that paying attention to the senses enriches our understanding of the past.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating conversations from the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. First Fridays is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. Andersen and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Event details
What: First Fridays: Our Ancestors Held This: Intergenerational Memory Transmission through Queer Archival Touch and Instructions on Taste and Smell: Sensory Experience in the Premodern World
When: Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 | Lunch at 11:30 a.m. | Presentations begin at noon
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library, room 120 and ONLINE | Parking and directions
March 2026 First Fridays: Conversations from UMN's Archives and Special Collections
First Fridays: Sensory Experiences
Join us for the 2025-2026 season of First Fridays as we explore the things you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell in Archives and Special Collections. This first program in the First Fridays season features presentations from the University of Minnesota Archives and Archival Processing.
Light lunch at 11:30 a.m. Presentations begin at noon. A tour of the archival caverns will take place after the event concludes. ASL interpreters will be present for all First Fridays events.
Registration will open Feb. 2026
IHRCA + Art
Presented by Ellen Engseth, Curator, Immigration History Research Center Archives, with special guests
Explore art in the immigration archives, including recent work by local Latinx photographers, and hear from the artists as they share about their work and inspiration.
Heartfelt, Groundbreaking, Unexpected: How Indigenous Characters Are Portrayed in Children’s Materials
Presented by Lisa Von Drasek, Curator, Children’s Literature Research Collections
Join the curator of the Children’s Literature Research Collections in an examination of how Native children were portrayed in children’s literature. How did these images influence the perception of Indigenous peoples? How have these illustrations changed in contemporary publications?
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating conversations from the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. First Fridays is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. Andersen and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Event details
What: First Fridays: IHRCA & Art and Heartfelt, Groundbreaking, Unexpected: How Indigenous Characters Are Portrayed in Children’s Materials
When: Friday, March 6, 2026 | Lunch at 11:30 a.m. | Presentations begin at noon
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library, room 120 and ONLINE | Parking and directions
April 2026 First Fridays - Featuring the CBI Archives
First Fridays: Sensory Experiences
Join us for the 2025-2026 season of First Fridays as we explore the things you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell in Archives and Special Collections. This penultimate program in the First Fridays season features presentations from the Andersen Horticulture Library and the Charles Babbage Institute Archives.
Light lunch at 11:30 a.m. Presentations begin at noon. A tour of the archival caverns will take place after the event concludes. ASL interpreters will be present for all First Fridays events.
Registration will open March 2026
A Sensory Walk Through the Forest: Discovering the Andersen Horticultural Library
Presented by Kristen Mastel, Head Librarian and Curator, Andersen Horticulture Library
Embark on a sensory-rich journey through the Andersen Horticultural Library’s collections, where nature, literature, and lived experience intertwine. This immersive presentation invites participants to explore the five senses — sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell — through the library’s unique holdings and experiential learning. Guided by Kristen Mastel, librarian and certified forest bathing guide, we’ll discover how sensory awareness deepens our connection to the natural world. Kristen will weave her experience leading forest bathing sessions on campus throughout the presentation.
Social Change and Experiential Art: The Maureen A. Nappi Papers
Presented by Maureen A. Nappi Project Archivist, Charles Babbage Institute Archives
Dr. Maureen A. Nappi was an activist and artist who utilized computer graphics and design to produce thought provoking, multi-sensory works invoking the cultural zeitgeist and social movements of the 1980s and 1990s, with a specific focus on the relationship between humanity and technology, feminism, and racial violence. Join us for an experiential introduction and deep dive into Dr. Nappi’s work and activism.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating conversations from the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. First Fridays is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. Andersen and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Event details
What: First Fridays: A Sensory Walk Through the Forest: Discovering the Andersen Horticultural Library and Social Change
When: Friday, April 3, 2026 | Lunch at 11:30 a.m. | Presentations begin at noon
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library, room 120 and ONLINE | Parking and directions
May 2026 First Fridays
First Fridays: Sensory Experiences
Join us for the 2025-2026 season of First Fridays as we explore the things you can see, hear, touch, taste or smell in Archives and Special Collections. This penultimate program in the First Fridays season features presentations from the Andersen Horticulture Library and the Charles Babbage Institute Archives.
Light lunch at 11:30 a.m. Presentations begin at noon. A tour of the archival caverns will take place after the event concludes. ASL interpreters will be present for all First Fridays events.
Registration will open April 2026
A Touch of Tweed: Jewish Garment Businesses
Presented by Kate Dietrick, Archivist, Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
From fur coats to tweed coats, Jewish-owned clothing companies have thrived for decades in the Upper Midwest. Delve into fabric swatches and pinking shears, and learn more about how it might feel when the sitting United States President is attired in a St. Paul storm coat.
Poetry Out Loud
Presented by Erin McBrien, Interim Curator, Upper Midwest Literary Archives
Poetry is powerful on the page, but can be transformative heard aloud. Join us for a tour of UMLA’s audio collections and hear poems from local authors in their own voices.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating conversations from the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Minnesota Libraries. First Fridays is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. Andersen and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Event details
What: First Fridays: A Touch of Tweed: Jewish Garment Businesses and Poetry Out Loud
When: Friday, May 1, 2025 | Lunch at 11:30 a.m. | Presentations begin at noon
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library, room 120 and ONLINE | Parking and directions