Iowa State Historical Archives in Iowa City Endangered

Proposed downsizing and consolidation result in vocal organized protest.

The State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) has an outstanding record of collecting and preserving the state’s heritage dating back to 1857. Opponents of the impending closure of its Iowa City branch are going to the mattresses over announced plans to shut down the specialized facility and transfer a portion of its extensive collection to Des Moines and disburse the rest.

An end to the Annals of Iowa, published for 163 years, was also disclosed. SHSI will stop editing and publishing it after July 1, 2026. However, officials are looking for a new publisher, potentially a university, to continue the historical journal.

It has been reported, but not confirmed, that 40 percent of the Iowa City collection will be moved to the Des Moines research center, while the remainder is expected to be distributed throughout Eastern Iowa, dismantled or stored with little or no access. The completion date for the transition is targeted for mid 2026.

Adam Steen, director of the Dept of Administrative Services (DAS), who announced the plan in mid-2025, called the new scheme of things “a team decision” to downsize, disperse and centralize the archives. Asked why the it was done without the benefit of public notice or discussion he was quoted in the Daily Iowan on July 29 saying “nothing technically requires [public input.]”

His argument was basically that the Iowa City facility costs too much and doesn’t pay for itself. Steen said they’re approaching the building like a business, and the imbalance of more money going out than coming in is threatening its sustainability.

“What we found was there was a lot of money and a lot of things being spent that we didn’t have money coming in to cover,” Steen said. “That creates a very large problem for the sustainability of any organization, so we are doing the best we can now to get to a spot where this building does not go away.”

That there might be other dimensions to Steen’s action came into focus when he recently resigned his state position and announced his candidacy for Iowa governor. An Aug. 19 article in the Iowa Capital Dispatch carried the news that he will be one of multiple Republican candidates seeking the state’s top job.

According to the report he said, “Let me tell you, from my own lips, who I am: I am the faith guy. I’m a Jesus guy. I’m a Make America Great Again guy. I’m a common-sense policy, America first, people first guy.”

Widespread Opposition

The announcement to close the building was met with widespread criticism from historians, community members and local officials. Opponents cite lack of transparency and public input, potential irreparable harm to public access to history, and concerns over the dispersal of irreplaceable collections.

While public statements from the state government headed by Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) linked the closure to funding cuts and budget deficits, the state administration later allocated funds to improve storage in Des Moines (but said it could accommodate only a fraction of what is presently housed in Iowa City, and the earliest it might be open would be 2028.)

There is no shortage of local coverage of this situation which continues to be fluid and short on specific details.

As of late August a petition to Save Iowa’s History started by Mary Bennett has gathered over 5,500 signatures. A meeting held in Iowa City on Aug 23, drew hundreds of Iowans concerned about the possible "erasure and dispersion” of what we have worked so diligently to create and preserve. Bennett worked as the society’s special collections coordinator for 50 years before retiring in 2023.

Bennett and her allies view the situation as a non-partisan issue – important to all Iowans who share an interest in state history – whatever their politics. Others see it as a politically influenced move that has much in common with attempts at the national level to rewrite history and diminish public access to the full range of America’s heritage.

Bennett argues that current plans to shut the Iowa City facility by the end of this year and move a portion of the vast collection to Des Moines by the middle of next year are impractical and short sighted. She disputes that it is financial reasons (rather than political considerations) that make this attempt to disperse, deaccession and in general make it harder for Iowans to have access to their past.

“This library is like the Library of Congress for Iowa,” she said in a recent media interview. “Since 1857, we have scoured the universe for everything we could find about Iowa. It would be very hard for me to summarize how extensive, comprehensive, and cohesive the collections are.”

In a letter to Steen, John R. Dichtl, president and CEO of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), warns that there hasn’t been a sufficient amount of time planned regarding the closure.

“The rushed timeline puts at risk some of Iowa’s most important historical items. “A hurried process and its proposed outcome could seriously compromise SHSI’s ability to serve and engage all Iowans in exploring their shared history.”

An audio commentary and recap of the situation was aired on Iowa Public Radio on August 20 featuring Bennett joined by Anthony Jahn, longtime state archivist, and Valerie Van Kooten, who for slightly more than a year, has headed SHSI.

In that program Jahn responded to requests for information about future plans with broad generalities and no specific details. He hinted that only a portion of what is presently in Iowa City will be transferred to Des Moines because there is not enough room, and also implied that some/much of the remainder will be dispersed to other public institutions or deaccessioned.

The discussion also noted that the holdings in Iowa City are vast, as many as a million photos, a huge number of publications and other old and fragile material including newspapers. Very little of what is in Iowa City has been digitized and is still accessed by card catalog entries. It was also mentioned that specialized conservation equipment available at the Iowa City location will not be moved to Des Moines.

Des Moines is about 100 miles from Iowa City. Iowa City is the home of the University of Iowa whose students and faculty have long made use of the collection and its resources.

Asked about the discontinuation of the historical journal SHSI director Van Kooten also straddled the line, implying that a different sponsor will be found to take up the publication while at the same time intimating that “there are people who don’t like us,” as a motive to limit the scope and content of the long running Annals of Iowa.

Although the public is allowed to conduct research at the center until December 30 (by appointment), items will start to be moved to Des Moines and other locations mid-September and early October.

Bennett shared that, once items are moved to Des Moines, minimal staffing will prevent the online catalog from being up to date.

“Most of the things in Iowa City are not in that catalog, so now we will not know what’s in the collection,” she said. “What are they going to do with it if they don’t even know what’s in the collection?”

The project is not scheduled for completion until 2028, and Bennett worries the collections from Iowa City will live in the basement until then.

“It probably won’t be retrievable, and the access tools won’t exist, which makes me skeptical about what comes next,” she said.

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Other online media coverage of the Iowa situation can be found here. Look for the link below the photo and on the right side of the page captioned “media mentions.”

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Reach writer Susan Halas at wailukusue@gmail.com