The Quatrefoil Library of Minneapolis preserves history and promotes community – The Minnesota Daily

The library on East Lake Street is not only a source of LGBTQ + literature and material, but is also a gathering place for the queer community of Twin Cities.

With a collection of over 15,000 books, the shelves of the Quatrefoil Library are rich in history and queer culture spanning decades.

But his legacy does not end there.

Since Quatrefoil opened in 1986, the library has offered a variety of LGBTQ materials in an effort to protect these stories from being erased. As its collection has grown over the years, libraries have made an impact. Today Quatrefoil functions as a gathering space for the Twin Cities LGBTQ community, bringing people together in a place where everyone is welcome.

Quatrefoil moved to its location on East Lake Street in 2013 where it remains today. All of the books available are gay-focused, written by LGBTQ authors, or in many cases, both. The library offers a rich assortment for readers of all genres, with ever-expanding sections of non-fiction and fiction material.

Quatrefoil is preparing for its annual Pride Book Sale. The library will have tents at the Twin Cities Pride Festival on July 17-18, where festival-goers can shop for t-shirts, buttons and, of course, great LGBTQ readings.

Claude Peck is a writer and former Arts and News Editor-in-Chief of Star Tribune. After serving on the library’s board of trustees for five years, Peck assumed the presidency of Quatrefoils in January 2021.

Peck explained that in recent years the library has focused on expanding into a community center.

Were also a crossroads of ideas and events, and for thoughtful people and people with things to say and discuss, he said.

Quatrefoil encourages conversation and connection by hosting various gay book clubs, poetry readings, book launches, round tables, game nights and more.

The combination of being a library and a place that brings the community together through activities is what makes Quatrefoil unique.

Our events are often suited to the crowd who might not come here on a typical Saturday afternoon to read a book, he said. I think it’s kind of a patchwork of wonderful things people can do with this community.

Paul Kaefer discovered Quatrefoil at a Pride event in 2016, shortly after moving to the Twin Cities. He said that he and his partner had no idea this sort of thing existed, and that they thought the library was a really cool place.

Kaefer started volunteering with Quatrefoil in January 2017 and joined the board in September of the same year. Today he is one of the vice-presidents of Quatrefoils and having an LGBTQ-specific library has helped him find a community. In fact, he said many of his LGBTQ friends are people he met at the library.

I revealed my homosexuality in college… but I didn’t feel like I had a great support network, Kaefer said. Before finding Quatrefoil, I felt like I had to look for him. I had to meet people individually, or have a friend who had a friend that I could become friends with.

Kaefer also said it’s important that LGBTQ places exist for queer people with varying interests.

[The] gay community exists outside of bars. I’ve definitely met more bookish people who would really like to go to a book launch instead of going out to party, he said. It’s not everyone’s thing, so it’s cool to have a place that is used to preserve, collect and share literature and history.

David Lenander studied English at the University of Minnesota and worked at the Universitys Health Sciences Library for over 30 years. He is a member of the North Country Gaylaxians, a book club that meets monthly at Quatrefoil to discuss LGBTQ science fiction, horror and fantasy literature.

For Lenander, libraries’ mission to preserve queer stories and make them accessible to others is a celebration of history.

You don’t want to celebrate horrible things, but you want to celebrate the progress we’ve made, said Lenander. I hope we can learn from history and do better, and I hope we can celebrate literature, poetry and all that stuff.

The library introduced free membership on June 1 as a way to reduce barriers to patronage and make its materials accessible to everyone. Q cards are available free of charge, and when registering, members can view Quatrefoils books, DVDs and other items.

Peck said he hopes this change will help young people and those on a tight budget who still want to use the library.

Our idea was just to say welcome to everyone, Peck said. We welcome and invite your patronage, and we want you to get involved.