Noted California bibliophiles and philanthropists Glen and Cathy Miranker recently made two multi-million dollar donations. They gave $3.1 million to endow a full-time curatorial chair for the teaching collection and exhibitions program at the Rare Books School (RBS) at the University of Virginia. The couple also gifted $2 million to establish an endowed curatorial chair for the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature at the University of Minnesota Libraries. 

The contribution to Virginia’s Rare Book School is the largest single gift in the school’s 41-year history. Likewise their donation to the UMN Libraries is the largest donation by first-time donors in its 155-year history. 

Virginia’s Rare Book School

According to a media release their contribution “secures the continued educational use, growth, conservation, and exhibition of the RBS teaching collection of more than 100,000 items and represents a powerful vote of confidence in the school’s unique approach to instruction, through hands-on student use of materials ranging from a third-century BCE Egyptian papyrus fragment to 21st-century born-digital material.”

“Endowing this key position gives Rare Book School greater financial sustainability over the long term, and so may be understood as a perpetual gift to our current and future students," said RBS Executive Director Michael F. Suarez, S.J. "My hope is that others will be inspired by Cathy’s and Glen’s leadership to further safeguard the future of RBS and its mission into the 21st century,”

The Mirankers have long been engaged with Rare Book School’s instructional programs, its financial support, and its governance. Glen is both a board member and frequent RBS student, and the family’s support extends from the school’s online offerings to annual match contributions for operating expenses. “We have high hopes of our gift setting off a chain reaction of support from other donors,” the couple said.

“We value the power of touch as a way of learning,” they explained, “and to us, the up-close-and-personal exploration of a book can bring unparalleled insights into its life and times, and to the community—authors, illustrators, designers, papermakers, bookbinders, printers, publishers, booksellers, collectors—that had a hand in its production.”

The new curatorial position will be known as the Miranker Family Director of Collections, Exhibitions & Scholarly Initiatives, a post currently held by Barbara Heritage, who has worked at RBS since 2002.

The gift coincides with the school’s move back into UVA’s renovated Edgar Shannon Library. Rare Book School’s new second-floor suite includes three state-of-the-art seminar rooms, a dedicated printing office, adjacent staff offices, space for exhibitions and storage for the teaching collection. RBS welcomed 530 students to 42 courses this summer, which took place in Charlottesville, at nine partner institutions, and online.

According to its website RBS is an independent, non-profit, and tax-exempt institute supporting the study of the history of books and printing and related subjects, governed by its own board of directors. Founded in 1983, it moved to its present home at the University of Virginia in 1992.

University of Minnesota’s Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature:

At the University of Minnesota Libraries the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature is an internationally recognized children’s literature library and archive open to the public which holds more than 100,000 children’s books, original manuscripts, correspondence, artworks, galleys, color proofs, and other material for more than 1,700 authors and illustrators.

In an October statement, at the time the gift was announced, the couple said, “We believe reading and listening to children’s books is more than a pastime; it’s a lifeline to a better future for kids and to a more caring, imaginative society."

“The Kerlan Collection is astounding,” the Mirankers said, “with unrivaled holdings, a commitment to access and outreach, and deep connections with the writers and artists engaged in the single-most important area of publishing, children’s literature. We are honored to support the collection and its dynamic curator Lisa Von Drasek. We also anticipate that our gift will be a game-changer for the whole UMN library system by igniting new and creative fundraising efforts.”

Von Drasek, whose new title is the Miranker Family Endowed Curatorial Chair for the Kerlan Collection, said: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Miranker Family Endowed Curatorial Chair ensures that the Kerlan will always have a librarian archivist with a background in children’s literature, child development, literacy, and have a practice in teaching and learning.”

“We are so grateful to Cathy and Glen — for the gift and for this partnership, which will advance the Kerlan for years to come,” said Lisa German, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries at the University of Minnesota.

German said that the Libraries will use this gift to demonstrate the positive impact of philanthropy and to inspire excitement and additional support for the Kerlan and other special collections at University of Minnesota Libraries.

About Glen and Cathy Miranker: Glen Miranker is an internationally known collector of Sherlock Holmes materials. He also collects and lectures on Enigma cipher machines used by Germany in World War II, as well as the work at Bletchley Park that cracked the Enigmas code. He serves as a board member at the Rare Book School (where he is also a perennial student and a fundraiser) and the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and was a past board member of the American Foundation for Toronto Public Library. Before retiring in 2004, he ran hardware development and served as Apple’s Chief Technology Officer (Hardware).

Cathy is a modern quilter with a minimalist sensibility, with quilts currently on display in two global exhibitions and at art galleries in New York and California. Before turning full-time to quilting, she had a varied career as a hand bookbinder; grant writer; teacher and blogger at Bookmaking with Kids; author of books about kids’ software; marketing writer for Silicon Valley companies; as well as a newspaper columnist, editor and reporter.

RBH Monthly wrote about Glen Miranker’s Sherlock Holmes collection and exhibition in Feb. 2022.