Archiving history can draw unusual attention
By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Sometimes collecting history brings about interesting situations.
And sometimes a simple comment can almost take on a life of its own.
Just ask Mike Kelly, WSU’s special collections curator, who has experienced both scenarios.
In early January, Kelly was talking to a Wichita Eagle reporter who was writing an obituary about local businessman Henry Amsden. The reporter wanted to know more about Amsden’s role in founding the Library Associates, a community group that is particularly interested in acquiring and supporting Ablah Library’s acquisition of manuscript and rare book collections.
Kelly thought he would add that not only had Amsden helped found this group, he had demonstrated his belief in preserving history by donating a rare collection of first-edition German Nazi propaganda books and pamphlets 10 years ago.
"It must have been a slow news day," says Kelly, about the media attention the collection received after the obituary ran Jan. 6. Three local news stations aired stories that WSU had acquired a Nazi propaganda collection, CNN Headline News ran it as a state news item in its on-screen ticker, and conservative G. Gordon Liddy mentioned it in his radio talk show.
The stories also generated other attention from across the country. Callers wanted to know if WSU would be interested in other Nazi-related material; one offered a painting of Hitler.
Some wondered why the university would collect such controversial material.
Kelly explains: "You can’t pick and choose history." Documenting history often means controversial materials need to be collected.
In the case of the Amsden collection, known officially as the Owen L. Cope Collection of Nazi Propaganda (named in honor of Amsden’s father-in-law), the material is unique because the Allies and even Germans purposely destroyed similar works after World War II. Most of the collection’s material was published before World War II, primarily with the purpose of "convincing German intellectuals of the merits of the (Nazi) party and its politics," Kelly says.
For those studying Germany between the wars and its economic situation and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party, this material would be valuable, Kelly says. "For someone studying how this could happen or how this kind of political movement could happen, this would give an insight into the mind of the Nazi party as it tried to convince its fellow Germans."
The items in the collection are listed in Ablah Library’s catalog, which is Internet-accessible.
Dealing with sudden attention for certain collections isn’t unusual for Kelly and his staff.
When Bob Dole ran for president against Bill Clinton in 1992, the Republican National Party and some media outlets contacted WSU for the only existing video of Dole’s first political campaign. It was acquired about 18 years ago when Ablah Library worked with KAKE TV to archive significant news stories that had aired locally. The news clip was used in a video montage of Dole’s political career during the Republican National Convention.
Ablah Library’s manuscript collection of conservative California Congressman John Schmitz garnered some interest a few years ago when his daughter, teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, was in the news for having an affair and two children with a teen-age student. Inquirers wanted copies of Schmitz’s writings or speeches that dealt with morality.
