Historians, professors, donors sue over closure of State Historical Society’s Iowa City facility

IOWA CITY — Seventeen historians, archivists, professors, authors, and donors with decades of public service — including as University of Iowa archivist and U.S. Supreme Court historian — are suing the State Historical Society of Iowa for haphazardly and without public input deciding to close its Iowa City research facility and archives.

“The Iowa Code explicitly requires the State of Iowa to maintain history research centers in both Des Moines and Iowa City,” according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 26 in Johnson County District Court. “Yet, without public input or a clear plan, state officials have begun dismantling the Iowa City archive, laying off staff, and removing collections — many of which were donated under the condition that they remain accessible in Iowa City.”

The litigants — including Linda Kerber, who’s been honored by former President Barack Obama and mentored by iconic Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; former UI Historian and Archivist David McCartney; and Judy Putney, granddaughter of F.W. Kent, recognized in the naming of Johnson County’s Kent Park — are seeking both immediate and permanent court intervention.

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The “decision to close the facility and the haphazard process they have followed in moving collections from the Iowa City Research Library to the facility in Des Moines has been in violation of professional archival standards and deaccession procedures,” according to the lawsuit filed against the historical society, its administrator, the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, its director, and the state archivist.

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Specifically, according to the lawsuit, the state didn’t reappraise the collection, prepare a plan to execute the move, engage all relevant stakeholders — including donors and community members — and document decisions and actions.

Due to damage being done and the rate at which the state intends to remove important and valuable collections from the Iowa City Research Library, “contrary to statute, to the deeds of gift for many donations in the collections, and to the general practices and record keeping of historical archivists,” the lawsuit seeks a temporary but immediate block on the removal of any document or artifact from the Iowa City Research Library.

It also wants the state to return any documents or artifacts that have been removed from the Iowa City library in preparation for the facility’s closure next year, according to the lawsuit.

And, ultimately, it wants the court to find the state violated Iowa Code — making the temporary injunction permanent.

“Petitioners seek an order determining that the Iowa City Research Library be maintained with its collections intact and be opened to the public for research and other related purposes.”

‘Undermine public access’

Among those suing to save the 168-year-old Iowa City research facility — opened just a decade after Iowa earned statehood — is David McCartney, who spent 21 years as University of Iowa archivist, making him its institutional memory; Linda Brown, who spent 23 years as a State Historical Society librarian; Linda Kerber, a UI professor emerita and Harvard University professor who in 2011 was appointed by President Barack Obama to a committee charged with keeping a history of the U.S. Supreme Court; and several other donors and professors.

The Iowa City Research Library — intentionally situated near the University of Iowa “to support scholarly research and public education” — has been housed in the Centennial Building at 402 Iowa St. for nearly 70 years since 1956.

Earlier this year, on June 17, the state without warning issued a press release announcing permanent closure of the Iowa City facility in 2026 — citing $878,000 in deferred maintenance costs, “despite the building being in stable condition and operating costs being relatively low,” according to the lawsuit.

“The press release misleadingly implied that $5 million in infrastructure funding for shelving in Des Moines could be used to house collections transferred from Iowa City, despite the fact that this funding was earmarked for replacing faulty shelving for existing archives,” the lawsuit alleged. “The decision was made in the context of budgetary realignment and staffing reductions, with Iowa City’s 2.5 full-time library positions eliminated while Des Moines retained its staff.”

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Nine days later, at a board meeting on June 26, Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen said “nothing technically requires” public input before closing the facility. And State Archivist Tony Jahn later said only 40 percent of the Iowa City collections would be moved to Des Moines — leaving the remaining 60 percent to be dispersed, deaccessioned, or disposed of.

“No comprehensive plan was presented, and no reappraisal of the collections was conducted prior to the announcement,” according to the lawsuit, which reported the University of Iowa Libraries declined to accept those portions of the collections not moving to Des Moines, citing lack of space and resources.

Those collections include print materials like books, periodicals, maps, and newspapers; special collections like manuscripts, diaries, and scrapbooks; photographs, including more than 1 million images; sound and video recordings like oral histories; and artifacts and art like Civil War memorabilia and Native American items.

“Many of the collections housed in the Iowa City Research Library were donated with the express or implied condition that they remain in Iowa City,” including collections valued in the hundreds of thousands, according to the lawsuit.

Additionally, UI faculty and students rely on the nearby collections for coursework, research, and public history projects — not to mention local genealogists, historians, journalists, and community members.

“The dispersal of the collections from that facility would break critical contextual links, undermine public access, and jeopardize the preservation of Iowa’s documentary heritage,” according to the lawsuit.

‘Irreparable harm’

Not only do the state’s actions violate Iowa Code, according to the petitioners, but they insult professional archival standards.

Best practices, according to the lawsuit, include reappraising collections before deaccessioning; offering transparent planning involving donor, researcher, and community engagement; and documentation.

“The State Historical Building in Des Moines has $72 million in deferred maintenance projects yet to be completed, and it lacks sufficient climate-controlled space to house the Iowa City collections,” according to the lawsuit, adding, “Staffing levels in Des Moines have been reduced. There is no capacity for existing staff to manage the influx of materials transferred from Iowa City.”

Among the petitioners’ demands is a judicial review of the agency’s closure.

“Petitioners ask that the court declare that respondents may not lawfully close the Iowa City Research Library, enjoin the respondents from closing the facility, and order the respondents to return all collections that were removed from the Iowa City Research Library in preparation for its closing,” according to the petition, seeking an immediate hearing to halt any further document removal.

Failure to do so “would cause irreparable harm to researchers like myself and to the broader academic and public communities that rely on the Iowa City Research Library,” according to a declaration from Mary Josephine Bennett, who worked as an archivist and librarian for the State Historical Society of Iowa before retiring.

A judge has scheduled a hearing for the temporary injunction at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 14 in the Johnson County Courthouse.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com