The Iowa Department of Administrative Services acted within the bounds of the law when it closed the Iowa City State Historical Society facility on Dec. 31, the state organization ruled.
A four-page declaratory order was issued on Dec. 30 and is the latest move in a battle to maintain access to millions of records and archives housed in Iowa City’s Centennial Building, where they have been kept for more than 150 years.
The lawyer for 17 local historians, archivists and interested citizens posed two questions in its petition for the order. First, the petition asked whether the closure of the Iowa City location constituted a violation of state law, which says the state has a “duty to maintain a research center in Iowa City.”
Iowa Department of Administrative Services Deputy Director and Legal Counsel Nathan Reckman ruled that the state organization had not violated state law when it announced the closure of the SHSI location in June, as it has subsequently agreed to a partnership with the University of Iowa.
Under this partnership, researchers and other members of the general public can request records and they will be transported for viewing at the UI Libraries.
“…[T]he Department may fulfill its obligation to maintain an Iowa City research center through other means and the Department has done so through an agreement with the University of Iowa,” the order read.
The second question that the plaintiffs asked was about the possible violation of agreements made with donors, some of which required certain items to remain in Iowa City.
The Department of Administrative Services declined to answer the question, contending that it “appears unlikely” that any the 17 individuals named as plaintiffs in this case “have standing to enforce donor agreements to which they have no claim,” or cannot show that they are “an aggrieved party,” which is a requirement for judicial review under Iowa law.
Mary Bennett, the retired, long-time head of the State Historical Society location in Iowa City and a plaintiff in the case, said her attorney plans to appeal the Department of Administrative Services’ ruling in the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, where the initial lawsuit was filed.
Declaratory order is latest development in legal battle over Iowa City location
A lawsuit filed by 17 local historians, archivists and interested citizens in late September said the closure of the Iowa City State Historical Society location constitutes a violation of Iowa law, breaches agreements with donors and “disregards professional archival standards.”
In early October, SHSI leaders and prison laborers began removing some of the records from the Iowa City location and transporting them to Des Moines, where the other State Historical Society building is located. In late October, Judge Kevin McKeever ruled that SHSI must halt the movement of all records.
SHSI leaders have told the Press-Citizen that they disagree with the ruling, but will continue to abide by the terms of the order as long as it remains in place.
The lawsuit was effectively put on pause as the sides awaited the ruling on the declaratory order. Parties can petition for a declaratory order to gain further clarity about how a specific legal “statute, rule or order [is] applied to specific circumstances,” according to Iowa law.
Local Save Iowa History leader focused on ‘the collections and their survival’
Bennett has also headed the Save Iowa History movement, which has grown since the June announcement that the Centennial Building would close. An online petition urging a reversal of the decision to close the building has garnered over 8,000 signatures as of Jan. 5.
Bennett told the Press-Citizen on Monday, Jan. 5, that DAS has continued to “justify” its decision to close the building with “falsehoods” and “lies.”
The building does not have asbestos everywhere, as some have claimed, Bennett said, pointing to a fact-check sheet available on SaveIowaHistory.org. The elevator inside the building is old and a little slow, but it is far from the “death trap” some have claimed, she said.
At the end of the day, Bennett is strongly focused on historical archives that have had a home in Iowa City as far back as 1857, she said.
“Focusing on protecting the collections that belong to all Iowans, that’s where the heart of my effort is,” Bennett said. “I care most about the collections and their survival, and this short-term plan is really destructive to them.”
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Closure of Iowa City’s Historical Society site was OK, state org rules
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
