The American Historical Association has sent a letter to Governor Kim Reynolds opposing the planned closure of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) Research Center in Iowa City, which collects, preserves, and provides access to thousands of historical records, images, and objects created and used by Iowans throughout the state’s history. The SHSI is a crucial resource for anyone looking to participate in the documentation and practical use of Iowa’s past.
August 28, 2025
Governor Kim Reynolds
Des Moines, Iowa
Dear Gov. Reynolds:
The American Historical Association expresses deep concern over the planned closure of the State Historical Society of Iowa (SHSI) Research Center in Iowa City. At this research center, the SHSI collects, preserves, and provides access to thousands of historical records, images, and objects created and used by Iowans throughout the state’s history. Local access to these materials is vital to both historians and the public. I write on behalf of the AHA to urge Iowa officials to prevent the closure of this facility and to allocate adequate funding to the SHSI to maintain the building and to manage, expand, and provide access to its collections. Doing so is essential to the continued preservation of, and access to, Iowa’s history.
The collections preserved in the SHSI, which was established in 1857, are essential to how Iowans learn about their individual and collective pasts. Genealogists, students, historians, journalists: all require access to these collections to participate in the documentation and practical use of their state’s past. Situated at the edge of the University of Iowa campus, the SHSI is used daily by students, faculty, and members of the public, all of whom rely upon not only the collections of the SHSI, but also on the expertise of its staff.
The decision to close the research center has been made without sufficient public input and without concrete plans for conserving, preserving, and providing continued access to the entirety of the SHSI’s collections. We urge Iowa officials to halt the planned closure and to undertake a full review of the needs of the SHSI and the communities it serves. Such a review must include input from various stakeholders, among them historians, educators, museum professionals, archivists, and other members of the public.
Future generations rely upon public officials to defend the institutions that preserve our heritage and to support programs that promote history education and public interest in the past. The SHSI’s collections are a vital resource for Iowans to understand their history. The planned closure places those collections and the history they preserve at risk.
The American Historical Association is a nonprofit organization founded in 1884 and incorporated by the United States Congress in 1889 for the promotion of historical studies and the dissemination of historical research. As a disciplinary association representing more than 10,700 historians, including Iowans, we support and encourage Iowa’s efforts to be a responsible steward of the state’s important historic resources. If there are ways in which the AHA can be of assistance as the state considers the future of the SHSI Research Center and its collections, please contact us.
Sincerely,
Sarah Weicksel
Executive Director
cc: State Archivist Anthony Jahn
SHSI Administrator Valerie Van Kooten
Director of Department of Management Kraig Paulsen