leadership role in what was, at the time, the most successful fundraising effort by any U.S. public university. Andersen believed there was an additional mission to the three central missions—teaching, research, and community service—of the university: an archival one. The building housing the archives and special collections of the university's libraries is named for him, in recognition of his deep belief in that mission. On May 14, 1999, the university's Board of Regents unanimously voted to name the newest library in his honor. The Elmer L. Andersen Library opened in April 2000. Voyageurs National Park One of Andersen's proudest achievements came in April 1975, when Congress passed legislation establishing Voyageurs National Park—thousands of acres of forests and lakes along Minnesota's northern border. Along with people like naturalist Sigurd Olson, legislator Willard Munger, and aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, Andersen devoted thousands of hours to persuading landowners, timber industry leaders, politicians, and citizens of the park's value to future generations. For his work, he is remembered as the "father of Voyageurs National Park". "It is flattering to have been called the father of Voyageurs Park. I think that I made a difference. But so did many, many other people, more than I could possibly name, who kept the dream alive until it came to fruition. Some of the real heroes were people in the region who opposed their friends or employers to support the park. The park also had help from another real hero—Charles Lindbergh....Charles A. Lindbergh's name deserves a prominent place in the annals of Voyageurs National Park. The man who did so much for the development of aviation also did much for his home state, for the cause of wilderness preservation—and for me." Book collector Andersen developed a passion for books as a child and collected them all his life. As a young traveling salesman, he saved his loose change and spent it on books. His hunt for books brought him into contact with dealers, other collectors, printers and librarians. He was well-acquainted with book and auction catalogues; paging through them became a welcome break in a busy day. Andersen bought books with a purpose, to build a library. He intended to read them, know them well, catalog them, and care for them. American and English history and literature and inspirational poetry were of particular interest to him, but as his interests expanded so did his reading and his library.