Bipartisan bill would reverse Iowa City historical society closure

DES MOINES — Countering a bill the Iowa Department of Administrative Services prefiled in December to eliminate the mandate in Iowa Code that it maintain a historical resource center in Iowa City, a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday introduced a measure to ensure historical centers remain staffed and open in both Des Moines and Iowa City.

“This bill specifies that the historical resource research centers that the Department of Administrative Services must maintain under current law in Des Moines and Iowa City must be in buildings located in those cities, adequately staffed, and open to the public,” according to House File 2025, filed Tuesday by Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City; Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville; Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton; and Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City.

The bill comes in response to a surprise announcement June 17 that the State Historical Society of Iowa after 168 years would permanently close its Iowa City research facility and archives at the end of the year — despite a clause in Iowa Code mandating the state maintain historical research centers in Des Moines and Iowa City.

The announcement compelled a group of 17 petitioners to sue the state in Johnson County District Court, where a judge agreed to issue a temporary injunction stopping the state from removing any more materials from the Iowa City research center.

The judge also instructed the petitioners to seek a declaratory order from the Department of Administrative Services, which exonerated itself — finding it did nothing wrong because Iowa Code doesn’t define “research center.”

At the same time, the department prefiled a bill to strike the requirement for a research center in Iowa City and formed a short-term agreement with the University of Iowa to make historical records available in Iowa City — until the law can be changed.

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Rep. Zabner, co-sponsor of the new bill to maintain the Iowa City center, said closing it would jeopardize Iowans’ long-term access to irreplaceable historical collections — from labor union archives and Native American heritage, to local government records and community newspapers.

Zabner argued many of those collections exist nowhere else and preserving regional access is a bipartisan responsibility and “a cost worth bearing.”

Criticizing the state’s six-month stopgap agreement with the University of Iowa as a temporary “Band-Aid” rather than a real solution, Zabner said lawmakers should work together to keep the center open permanently so future generations of Iowans, researchers and scholars can continue to access the collections in person.

“I think it's very important that Iowans continue to have access to their history, especially outside of just Des Moines,” Zabner told The Gazette. “And I understand that there's a cost to that. I think our history and maintaining it is a cost worth bearing for the people of the state.”

Rep. Jacoby, D-Coralville, likewise criticized the UI arrangement, saying it reduces the Iowa City site to little more than a “delivery service” that provides copies of individual pages rather than meaningful, on-site research access.

Serious research, Jacoby said, requires the ability to consult full volumes and multiple related materials simultaneously — something only accomplished through a staffed, bricks-and-mortar facility open to the public in Johnson County.

Any long-term solution, he said, must include funding for a physical location with staff and full public access, not just remote or piecemeal services.

The effort to keep the State Historical Society’s research center in Johnson County, according to Jacoby, has “considerable” bipartisan backing — including from Republican House Majority Leader Kaufmann, of Wilton, and Thomson of Charles City as cosponsors.

Legislators have heard support for their proposal from donors, historians and community members of all stripes and views urging they preserve in-person access to the collections in the community where many of the materials were donated and where local ties remain.

“It's everyday Iowans who have stood up and said, ‘No, we want access to our history,’” Zabner said. “And I think when they see a bipartisan bill with powerful members of the legislature behind it, my hope is that (state officials) understand that the easiest thing to do is to reverse this decision and keep the center open.”

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While state officials have cited a budget shortfall as the reason for closing the Iowa City branch, Jacoby disputed that explanation, saying staffing costs are already built into both the agency’s budget and the State Historical Society’s budget.

Lawmakers are considering whether additional funding is needed or whether to ensure existing dollars remain in Eastern Iowa rather than being shifted to Des Moines.

Tom Barton of The Gazette contributed to this report.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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