It is located underground in the Elmer L. Andersen special collections facilities on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus.

Although books are the core of the collection (including a large holding of gay pulp fiction), substantial sections include textiles, glassware, film, music, art works, and three-dimensional objects such as statuary, event buttons, and furniture.

The TTHOP was founded in 2015 by Andrea Jenkins who sought to shift the public conversation around trans people by documenting their lived experiences.

The TTHOP's mission statement reads as follows: "The Tretter Transgender Oral History Project (TTOHP) is committed to collecting, preserving, and making available oral histories of gender transgression, broadly understood through a trans framework.

[14] The interview questions were mainly interested in the personal lives and gender transition journeys of the trans individuals.

In 2016, The Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection was the inaugural recipient of the Newlen-Symons Award for Excellence in Library Services and Outreach to the GLBT Community.

The Society of American Archivists annually recognizes outstanding contributions, leaders, and achievers in advancing diversity within the archives profession.