We Need Your Support In Saving SHSI – Iowa City!

The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) Centennial Building in Iowa City.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD – NOT ONLY IS THE CENTENNIAL BUILDING IN IOWA CITY IN GREAT DANGER OF DISAPPEARING – BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE COUNTLESS HISTORICAL TREASURES WITHIN ARE ENDANGERED AS WELL!

We invite you to read this OPEN LETTER (below) from Kathy Gourley, an archaeologist, historian, and longtime employee of the State Historical Society. She spells out the full story and offers us the necessary action points we all need to be aware of…

In the 1980s, I served as the Local Government Coordinator for the Iowa State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). I moved into another position at the SHPO in 1990, and continued in various roles with the State Historical Society until my retirement in 2017. In retirement, I continue to care deeply about Iowa history.

As you probably know, Governor Kim Reynolds led the realignment of State government agencies in 2023. As part of that realignment, the State Historical Society of Iowa was split. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is now housed within the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The museum, library, archives, historic sites, and grant programs–which retain the State Historical Society of Iowa name–are now housed within the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). The Director of DAS now has decision-making authority for the State Historical Society.

There is a $800,000 shortfall in the State Historical Society’s budget for the July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026 state fiscal year. DAS Director Adam Steen has decided the solution to this shortfall is to close and permanently abandon the State Historical Society’s Iowa City research center. The majority of the collections held there will be dispersed.

Attached (below) is a Change.org petition regarding the announced decision to close the Iowa City branch of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI). The building closed in early July; it will be open by appointment only Wednesday—Friday until the end of December 2025. On January 1, 2026, the building will be permanently closed, and the building will be completely emptied and vacated by June 30, 2026.

I believe the public needs to speak out, to ensure this closure and the dismantling of the collection is reconsidered.

As a member of the public, I attended the SHSI Board of Trustees meeting in late June. The Board learned of the closure through SHSI’s June 17th press release. The June meeting was the quarterly Board meeting, and was the first time the Trustees had had an opportunity to discuss the closure. Board members were not consulted prior to the State making this decision.

Through the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF), the Legislature did allocate $5 million to replace compact shelving in the State Historical Building in Des Moines. These shelving units have needed work for many years, and it is good that they are finally getting attention. RIIF monies cannot be used for an agency’s operational expenses, so these funds cannot solve the operational shortfall.

The new shelving will not be functional until State Fiscal Year 2028, long after the deadline for dispersing the collections in Iowa City. Moreover, these new shelving units will simply replace existing shelves–they will not provide storage space for additional collections.

During the Board of Trustees meeting, SHSI administrators acknowledged that only about 40% of the collection currently housed in Iowa City can be transferred to SHSI in Des Moines because there is not adequate space.

SHSI administrators said they are “having conversations” with other institutions to transfer the collections elsewhere; but if they cannot find homes for everything, the remainder will be de-accessioned. If there are no institutions available to take the collections, the staff will dispose of the materials–books, records, photographs, etc. that document the history of Iowa. The Iowa City center began collecting historic materials in 1857!

Please consider signing the petition, contacting Legislators and the Governor’s Office, and contacting SHSI administrators and the Director of the Department of Administrative Services, who oversees SHSI. It is probably best to reach out to all the individuals listed below.

The State Archivist is Anthony Jahn. He can be reached at anthony.jahn@iowa.gov or by phone at 515-666-9144.

The SHSI Administrator is Valerie Van Kooten. She can be reached at valerie.vankooten@iowa.gov or by phone at 515-281-8749.

The Director of Administrative Services is Adam Steen. He can be reached at adam.steen@iowa.gov or by phone at 515-725-2205.

Governor Kimberly Reynolds can be reached at kimberly.reynolds@iowa.gov or by phone at 515-281-5211.

Here is a link to Find Your Legislator: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

A link to the Change.org petition is below. Even if you do not sign the petition, please take time to read it, as it contains a great deal of information and is updated periodically. I encourage you to share the petition widely, as Iowans–and others who care about Iowa’s historical records–need to understand what is at stake.

Please note that if you see a request for monetary donations on the petition, those donations go to Change.org. The Save Iowa History Coalition is not asking for donations.