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Some of the materials in the German
Heritage Collection.
New Ulm, Minnesota, located 90 miles
southwest of the Twin Cities, was proclaimed by results of
the 2000 Census as “the most German town in America.” Many
residents trace their German ancestors back through
generations in this city settled largely by German
immigrants in the nineteenth century.
New Ulm has many historic attractions of German lineage
including the Hermann Monument, Glockenspiel, Wanda Gag Home
and Schell's Brewery, but it also has the German Heritage
Collection of the New Ulm Public Library. This collection of
about 100 books is devoted not to German history per se, but
more precisely to German-American history. Begun in 2000,
this still small collection is nonetheless noteworthy in its
attempts to collect materials on this focused topic. Denis
Warta, a New Ulm city council member at the time, urged the
creation of the collection in 2000 noting—“There are
pieces of this in college libraries all across the United
States. Some public library should make this available, and
New Ulm should be that place, as the most German town in the
United States.” And so it was. It is believed to be the
only such specialized German-American history collection in
a public library in the United States.
Dedicated in October, 2000, the German Heritage Collection,
given its narrow subject focus, has grown slowly . Donations
from several authors helped establish the collection as did
contributions from members of the Society for
German-American Studies. While scholars find the collection
of note, so do genealogists and anyone interested in
German-American history. All of the materials circulate and
may be borrowed locally or through interlibrary loan.
Given its small size, the collection is not separately
housed, but is interspersed throughout the library’s general
collections. Each volume in the collection, however, is
distinguished by an identifying sticker depicting the
Hermann Monument in New Ulm. For off-site users, contents of
the collection may be searched in the library’s online
catalog. Access the online catalog using the "Catalog" Web
link above. Then use the local subject heading:
“German-American Heritage Collection” to obtain listings of
the materials. |
