A first-edition copy of the novel Quatrefoil: A Modern Novel, written by James Barr (the pen name of James Fugaté) and published by Greenberg in 1950. When David Irwin and Dick Hewetson opened a gay lending library in Minneapolis in 1986, they named it Quatrefoil after the book. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Kathy Robbins and Cathy Croghan (left to right) at Quatrefoil Library’s May Day celebration, May 5, 2001. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Kathy Robbins, Cathy Croghan, John Neess, Dan Hanson, and Keith Grennier (left to right, with Grennier kneeling) at Quatrefoil Library’s May Day celebration, May 5, 2001. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Dick Hewetson and David Irwin (front, left to right) at Quatrefoil Library’s tenth-anniversary celebration on April 7, 1996. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

David Irwin (right) wearing his Quatrefoil letter jacket, a gift on the occasion of his retirement from his role as executive director of Quatrefoil Library, November 15, 1991. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

David Irwin (left) and Dick Hewetson (right), the cofounders of Quatrefoil Library, meet with novelist James Fugaté (pen name: James Barr, center) on November 15, 1991. Fugaté wrote the novel that inspired Irwin’s choice of name for the library. Irwin and Hewetson invited Barr to Quatrefoil as a special guest to celebrate their retirement. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Barbara Gittings, founder of the Ladder and the Daughters of Bilitis, appears as the featured guest at the open house of Quatrefoil’s newly opened location on the first floor of the Richards Gordon School Building (1619 Dayton Avenue, St. Paul), April 21, 1991. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Left to right: David Irwin, Kathy Robbins, Dick Hewetson, and Edward Swanson gather at Quatrefoil Library on its tenth anniversary, April 7, 1996. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.

Quatrefoil Library’s booth at the 1988 Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration in Minneapolis (later called Twin Cities Pride). Quatrefoil co-founder David Irwin sits at the far right; co-founder Dick Hewetson next to him. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.Quatrefoil Library’s booth at the 1988 Gay and Lesbian Pride Celebration in Minneapolis (later called Twin Cities Pride). Quatrefoil co-founder David Irwin sits at the far right; co-founder Dick Hewetson is to the left of Irwin. Used with the permission of Quatrefoil Library.