menu
Skip to main content

UMN Libraries news and events have moved to www.lib.umn.edu/news

Please update your bookmarks and visit that site for current news and events, including event registration. To give to UMN Libraries, visit www.lib.umn.edu/about#giving.

This site (libnews.umn.edu) has been preserved as an archive and will be available until at least 2028.

News

NPR tours the U’s Kerlan Collection

By October 4, 2015September 16th, 2023No Comments
The first draft of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie.

The first draft of Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie

Our Kerlan Collection was the subject of a magnificent National Public Radio Weekend Edition story on October 4. It featured Kerlan curator Lisa Von Drasek, Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo, and Hamline University’s Mary Rockcastle, a member of the Kerlan board. 

“It’s cold down here,” Von Drasek told the NPR reporter as they toured the Kerlan Collection in the caverns beneath Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota. At 55 degrees, “this is the temperature that is perfect for books and paper.”

“It’s very Raiders of the Lost Ark-y down here,” said DiCamillo, who joined Von Drasek and NPR on the tour. 

The Kerlan Collection holds more than 100,000 books, including all of DiCamillo’s manuscripts. 

Read/listen to the full story at NPR

Mark Engebretson

Author Mark Engebretson

More posts by Mark Engebretson

© 2026 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Report Web Accessibility Issues | Privacy Statement | Acceptable Use of IT Resources