On Oct. 13, Ritter Library hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house for its newly renovated University Archives.
The open house commencing at 1 p.m. showcased the improvements to the attendees, which included wider aisles, bookcases, new flooring and a fresh paint job for the room located on the second floor of the library.
Ritter Library was officially released to begin the renovations in April of this year, but a lot of work had to be done. The entirety of the archives were organized, divided into boxes and emptied out into the main room on the bottom floor of Ritter Library.
University Archives are home to a multitude of information and artifacts, including old yearbooks, letters, official paperwork and photographs. It even holds copies of The Exponent dating back to the early twentieth century. All of these artifacts had to be removed for renovations, including over 5000 boxes said Brandy Arnolds, BW alum and former archival student assistant.
BW archivist, Kieth Peppers, oversaw the organization and removal of the artifacts, which had to be done within the span of only a few months.
“So, we had from the beginning of May, when the spring semester ended, through the middle of August to empty the archives,” Peppers said.
After the archives were fully cleared out, the renovations were able to start taking place. These renovations include new gutters, flooring, lighting and painted walls. Peppers also said that he hopes to add climate sensors in the future to further protect the items in the archives.
A major aspect of the renovation were new rails and shelves that were placed in. The original shelves dated back to the 1970s.
“They were electronic instead of crank like they are now, and you would push a button and the shelves would move,” Peppers said. “A couple years after I started, maybe seven or eight years ago, they started to smoke and sizzle.”
The electronics were eventually taken out of the shelving units, to prevent the chance of a fire. However, the shelves had to be manually opened from the ground with a wrench, Arnolds said.
The new shelves include a manual crank to move each individual shelf, which allows the
archivists to open more shelves at a time. This makes it a more accessible area, as the aisles can now be opened wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and anyone who would like to access the archives.
In addition to the renovations, attendees of the open house could view displays setup for the new Founder’s Day inductees, an annual BW tradition where the university reflects on the history of the founder, John Baldwin, and inducts two former members of the BW community to have their names placed on the Memorial Wall in the North Quad.
“This year they indicted former Board of Trustees member, Stephen Boesel,” Peppers said. “And then Georgia ‘Jo’ Swanson.”
Displays featuring images of these individuals and artifacts belonging to them were available for attendees to view at the open house.
A third table was set up as well, with artifacts from former inductees. This included a jacket that belonged to Alfred B. Bonds, BW’s president from 1955 to 1981.
