The Cool and Collected tour will offer an exclusive experiential look at the remarkably engineered and designed University of Minnesota Andersen Library caverns that hold various archival and special collections. The two-story high caverns were excavated from the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi River, and extend the length of two football fields. They contain more than 1.5 million volumes of books, manuscripts, illustrations and artifacts. After a twenty-minute tour of the cavern, attendees will get a "hands-on" look at selections of local artists' books and zines from The Francis V. Gorman Rare Art Books, Media, and Artist's Archives. Viewers will understand the careful considerations that went into the construction of the University of Minnesota Caverns and how our institution preserves important materials for posterity. Attendees will learn about the superbly active artists' book and zine communities in the Twin Cities and be able to identify some of the local greats found at the UMN's collection.
