A Call to Support OHS
By K. Austin Kerr, Ph.D.
As the Academy’s President this academic year I serve as an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Historical Society. The Academy and the Society have enjoyed a long-standing relationship and one in which the Society has been supportive of this organization in important ways. Many members of the Academy choose to pay their dues through the Society, and to join both organizations.
The participation of the Academy’s President in the board meetings allows us to have a voice in its deliberations. My duties as an ex officio trustee have proven anything but arduous. I have attended meetings of the trustees and have occasionally spoken on matters that I think are important to the Academy. I have especially spoken in support of efforts to improve the quality of history education in the primary and secondary grades in the state’s public schools (the Ohio Department of Education also has an ex officio seat on the Ohio Historical Society Board of Trustees). I have used the occasion of the trustees meeting, moreover, as an opportunity to inform other trustees, and Society staff members, about the work of the Academy. Now the time has come to share information in the opposite direction—to inform the Academy about the work and concerns of the Society.
On the day of the December 2003 meeting I visited, along with other members of the Board, the Society’s collections site in Columbus. The Society uses several converted commercial warehouse buildings, which house offices, workshops, and artifacts. I came away from my visit concerned about the inadequacy of the physical facilities, and determined to call upon the members of the Ohio Academy of History to support the efforts of the Society to receive a special appropriation from the General Assembly to build an adequate and suitable collections facility in Columbus.
As an academic historian, I have been most familiar with the archives, manuscript, photograph, and library collections of the Society, all of which are accessed through the library in the headquarters building. By statute, however, the Society’s charge is even broader: it is responsible for “collecting, preserving, and making available” other “historical objects, specimens, and artifacts which pertain to the history of Ohio and its people . . . .” (Ohio Revised Code 149.30). Accordingly, it has rich collections of other important materials—artifacts of all sorts that can be used in museum exhibits—including archaeological remains, natural history objects, and the like.
The Society has staff expert at restoring and preserving these historical materials, but their work takes place mainly behind the scenes, out of public view, in the inadequate and outdated collections facility that I visited. The Society’s buildings lack space for housing collections, staff work space is insufficient, and opportunities for volunteers or interns to help with projects are very limited in the present facility. Furthermore, the Society’s ability to protect and maintain its collection—much less make it available for study—is seriously impaired by inadequate temperature and humidity control for storing the Society’s historical, archeological, and natural history materials.
The Society needs much better quality space—larger, with environmental controls, fireproof, and built to withstand tornado damage. The Society has carefully considered and planned for the future with this project. Their efforts deserve our support, and they deserve the support of the General Assembly.
K. Austin Kerr is Professor of American and Business History at The Ohio State University.
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