Planning a new facility

The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City has undertaken an ambitious plan to expand its facility with much needed space for researchers, staff, and collections storage. In the years since its founding in 1980, SHSMO Research Center-KC has grown to over 11,000 cubic feet of materials. However, the work and storage areas of the office have not kept pace and much of our processing work must be done in our research room, and more that 85 percent of our collections are stored off-site at the University of Missouri Records Center. With the expansion of the Miller Nichols Library on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus, SHSMO Research Center-KC staff has the opportunity to plan and build a highly functional facility that will provide growth and needed environments to preserve the collections and room for programming and storage, including:

• A 3,000 square foot RESEARCH ROOM where the collection may securely and comfortably be used.
• A 500 square foot MICROFILM ROOM in which our microform collections may be accessed.
• A 1,000 square foot GALLERY (Exhibit area) where the SHSMO Research Center-KC collections and other institutions’ materials may be exhibited.
• A 900 square foot CLASS/MEETING ROOM to accommodate classes of students and groups meeting in our offices.
• A 300 square foot STUDIO/MEETING ROOM in which we will conduct video and oral histories to be added to our collection.
• A 900 square foot AUDIOVISUAL LAB in which we will set up film and video equipment we currently own or will acquire to work with and transfer our large film and video collection to modern media. Additionally the services of this lab—a facility unique in the Kansas City region—will be available to other area institutions.
• A 600 square foot IMAGING LAB with equipment to digitally scan photographs, documents, and architectural drawings for research use and publication.
• A 700 square foot CONSERVATION LAB in which special processing and preservation can be applied to materials.
• A flexible 3,000 square foot STAFF OFFICE/WORK AREA for current and future staff, including grant funded staff.
• A 1,500 square foot NEGATIVE AND FILM STORAGE area with the appropriate environment for the long term storage of these fragile materials. Additionally this room will contain reach-in freezers into which items requiring cold storage will be placed.
• A 1,500 square foot OVERSIZE STORAGE for items that are too large to be shelved in regular storage.
• Storage in the Miller Nichols Library’s automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for 42,000 cubic feet of records—sufficient space for 15 years growth.

All of the SHSMO Research Center-KC will be housed in this new facility improving access and service—our material will be available immediately in minutes rather than days.

Fundraising for the new facility is progressing. SHSMO Research Center-KC will raise $3 million to finish and furnish renovated 18,800 square feet in the existing library building. Our goal is to move to the completed facility in 2011.

If you wish more information about investing in Kansas City’s regional history, contact David Boutros, Assistant Director of SHSMO Research Center-KC at BoutrosD@umsystem.edu or (816) 235-1544.

Download the SHSMO Research Center-KC New Facility Case Statement.

Last revised: Tuesday, October 04, 2011

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