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November 20, 1999
Historic research library finds a homeBooks for research onlocal businesses, houses, will be kept at City HallBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- A historical research library will soon find a home, ending a long battle for members of the Heritage Preservation Commission Thursday, when they voted unanimously to have them placed at City Hall. The Commission has collected books that will be made available for residents wanting to conduct research on local businesses or houses in an attempt to begin the historic designation process. Throughout the process, the Commission looked at a variety of possible locations, finally settling on a shelf at City Hall. Although there are not that many books in the collection, the problems stemmed from a lack of space at the Brown County Historical Society and a lack of control at the Public Library. "The Museum has no place for the collection," Commission Member Pete McClurg said. "They have offered to distribute a list of titles that are available to anyone needing to use them." City officials agreed to supply a bookcase to house the books at the museum, but museum officials still stated they had no room for the books within the confines of their existing space, he said. "The Chamber of Commerce said they could pass out information about what books are available and where they are housed, but didn't have the space or the personnel to handle the collection," he said. The Library is actually the ideal place for the collection, but Library Director Dan Reilly feared having the books in a separate section of the library would disrupt normal operations. The commission members had no objection to having the books placed on the cataloging system as long as they were separate. There is a gift policy in place at the library and if the books were donated, they would have fit into the criteria of the policy. This means they would be reviewed periodically and would be gotten rid of once they had reached a certain condition. "We need to prepare a bibliography of the materials we have, so people will be aware of what is available and where they can find them at," McClurg said. This will be a benefit to the city and is being considered a positive step for the Commission, because it finally settles the situation, Commission Member Christine Carmichael said. "We don't have a lot of material," Commission Member Jim Bodine said. "The problem is cataloging it. Having it at City Hall doesn't allow for casual browsing." During the meeting, the commission also discussed a plaque that is being proposed for placement on locally designated properties. The commission is looking at a 9 x 4 bronze oval or rectangular plaque with an inscription of Hermann. The plaques can be purchased for approximately $66 each from a company in Chantilly, Va. known as Erie Landmark Company, which was recommended by the Minnesota Historical Society. The price does not include a one time charge to scan the logo into the computer. The plaques follow guidelines established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in regards to size and lettering, and they can be personalized and numbered for each designated property. * Commission members are also in the process of rewriting the proposal to get the Windhorn property declared a landmark. * A meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 30, between the Commission, Brown County officials and Brown County Historical Society representatives to discuss the potential designation of the old Post Office building. * The Commission is awaiting final approval from the state historical society regarding the designation of the Brown County Poor Farm. The proposal was rewritten to include social issues involved with the history and significance of the building.
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