Photo: UWM Libraries - X
UWM Libraries Archives
UWM Libraries Archives
On Wednesday, Sept. 20 the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries is hosting an open house for their renovated and expanded Archives. The new space, made possible following an ambitious multi-year fundraising effort, provides a facility that highlights the value of the collections housed in Archives, while also providing additional room for visitors to engage with these important collections. It is a welcome addition to UWM’s campus.
On the one hand, the expansion and renovation of the Archives was rooted in primarily practical concerns. Commenting on the Archives’ previous home—on the second floor of the UWM Golda Meir Library—Head of Archives Derek Webb notes that “It wasn’t really ideally suited to our needs, for one in preservation terms because the space couldn’t hold a lot of our collections and had really bad temperature extremes.” The second-floor space also had just one public space, one shared by library staff, visiting researchers, and UWM classes alike.
Photo: UWM Libraries - X
UWM Libraries Archives
UWM Libraries Archives
The new space, located on the library’s third floor, addresses many of these concerns. A successful $2.8 million-dollar fundraising campaign‚ kickstarted by a $1 million gift made by an anonymous donor—allowed library staff to create not only consolidate collection storage space, but to install a dedicated HVAC system to add collection preservation efforts. A new classroom was also built adjacent to the Archives, “designed,” in the words of Associate Vice Provost and Library Director Michael Doylen, “to support students and our faculty working with archival resources.”
This desire to directly engage with UWM students and faculty is at the heart of the Archives new home. To assist with such engagement, library staff worked with Engberg Anderson Architects to create an approachable, welcoming environment for Archives visitors. To Doylen, such concerns were “deliberately part of the planning—as much as possible to open the space up.” Large windows allow passersby the ability to see into the facility. “It was really important,” notes Doylen, “to have more glass, more openness, and a sense of transparency” in the new space.
Yet the space ultimately strives for more than just additional transparency. The Archives welcome area features display cases and wall decorations, while the facility’s reading room includes chairs and tables of a quality that suggests the inherent value of the space. Commenting on the messages the facility’s built environment sends, Doylen concludes that “It’s an approachable space, but also a special space.” And one that UWM is lucky to have.
