Portland Mercury :

As of Friday, March 13, the collection of Oregon’s films, photos, trail diaries, propaganda posters, and transit maps that for decades anyone could use to research Oregon’s history is no longer open to the public.

The timing of the closure is ironic. In mid-February, state legislators celebrated Oregon’s 150th birthday at the capitol building in Salem by consuming a reported 423 pounds of cake and 3,100 hot dogs. In between mouthfuls, Senate President Peter Courtney, dressed in period costume, gave a speech emphasizing the importance of Oregon’s history.

Rachel Schoening, OHS spokeswoman, says the society has run up “a huge deficit” since the state cut its funding in 2001. “We basically ran ourselves into the ground,” says Schoening.

Portland Tribune:

The Oregon Historical Society took steps Friday to reopen its shuttered research library, but the lack of a long-term solution to its budget crunch still worries regional historians.

Society officials announced that the library, which is popular with historians and researchers, will reopen by the end of this month with a skeleton staff.

March 18, 2009

Dear Governor Kulongoski,

I am writing on behalf of the Northwest History Network concerning the closure and uncertain future of the Oregon Historical Society research library. For a quick synopsis of the situation, please see:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-the-OHSRL-and-staff. As of this afternoon, 624 people had signed the resolution and commented on the library’s importance.

Are you aware that the Oregon Historical Society collections are held in the public trust? The Society’s recent actions threaten that trust. For that reason, and because the collections are vitally important for the study and dissemination of state and regional history, the Northwest History Network and the signers of these resolutions call on you to convene a task force to study the situation and propose a sustainable solution that maintains an accessible and intact research library. Such a solution must involve a public discussion with community stakeholders.

We have reason to believe that the Society no longer views the research library as its core mission, and we believe it might seek ways to part with it. However, the Society has indicated that it desires to keep all or part of the photograph and film collections, believing that these will generate revenue in use and permission fees.  It is vitally important that these collections remain intact and not separated from the personal and business records that accompany them. Since 1898, thousands of people have donated their photographs, business records, and manuscript materials. They did not do so with the understanding that the Society might later find portions of those donations dispensable.

Governor, we ask you to convene a task force of historians, archivists, and community leaders to find a sustainable future for these invaluable collections. Members of the Northwest History Network have begun research on successful models of research library administration in other states, and we would be happy to work with your task force in seeking a solution to this problem.

Thank you for your time,

Kathy Tucker

Director, Northwest History Network

http://www.northwesthistory.org/index.htm

Here are some photos from the rally to support the OHS library and the staff. It was a great afternoon! The speakers were fantastic and spoke very eloquently about the need to keep the library open and staffed. As a bonus, the sun shone on the event!