Hunter
12/22/25
The University of Iowa has agreed to take possession of part of the State Historical Society’s collection at the Centennial Building in Iowa City.
The agreement was announced last week, and will allow members of the public to access select historical documents and images by submitting a request.
The Gazette reports the agreement is similar to an inter-library loan, where the requested materials will be moved from one entity to another upon request from a researcher or member of the public for a limited and defined period of time.
This agreement, which allows requests to be made beginning January 1, comes after the state surprised historians by announcing that the Iowa City center would close by the end of the year. Local historians, archivists, professors, donors and community members filed a lawsuit to block the closure and stop removal of materials from the Centennial Building. A judge ruled in October that the state stop removing materials pending a final decision.
Mary Bennett, who worked at the State Historical Society for nearly 50 years, criticized the agreement. She told KCRG TV that it only makes a portion of the society’s collection accessible, and is concerned that transporting documents could lead to delicate records being damaged or destroyed.
The Centennial Building is currently set to close June 30th next year. The suit claims that state law mandates the Iowa City location stay open, although the Iowa Department of Administrative Services has pre-filed legislation that, if passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds, would remove that requirement.