Augustana College’s Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center will receive $50,000 to help ensure that the records contained in this repository of Swedish-American history are better preserved.
The money from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will fund a study of the center’s home at Augustana College’s historic Denkmann Memorial Building, the Rock Island college said in a Monday, Oct. 2, news release.
According to Swenson Center Director Dag Blanck, a pair of consultants – one archival and one architectural – will come to the Denkmann-based center to assess environmental conditions, mechanical systems and the walls, windows and roof of the structure that houses archives for the study of Swedish-American history and relations.
Materials there include letters, diaries, books and hundreds of newspapers focused on 1840-1930 when 1.3 million Swedes made their way to the New World, the news release said.
“We are very concerned about continuing to be good stewards of the materials given to us,” Mr. Blanck was quoted as saying from his office at Uppsala University in Stockholm, Sweden. That’s where he serves as professor of North American Studies and director of the Swedish Institute for North American Studies.
Since becoming the Augustana Swenson Center director in 1985, Augustana said in the release, Mr. Blanck has divided his time between the Quad-Cities and Uppsala.
“Denkmann Hall is a beautiful building, but it has some issues — climate control, humidity, water — all things you don’t want to have near the archives,” he added. “We have incredible – unique and rare items. They must be preserved well. It’s an enormous challenge.”
More than 600 researchers access the resources at the Swenson Center each year, including in-person and digitally. In addition to academic research, the center also assists individuals researching their own Swedish-American genealogy.
NEH received 57 eligible applications for the “Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections” category, and Augustana was one of only 17 requests awarded funding in that category. A listing of recipients and awarded projects is available at neh.gov.
Augustana Provost Dianna Shandy said in the release that the prestigious NEH award reaffirms the Swenson Center’s mission of serving as a leading national and international institution for the study of Swedish-American history and relations.
“Augustana’s commitment to its Swedish roots is demonstrated by this award and our thriving partnerships, including student exchange programs and President Andrea Talentino’s selection to speak during Higher Education Week at Uppsala University in October,” she said.
The study’s results will be considered when Augustana’s master campus plan is developed.
Mr. Blanck said some of the changes could impact other occupants of Denkmann, including the department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
He added that the Swensen Center has made strides in modernizing its collections and that important work must continue.
“Today so much is digital and computerized,” he said. “We need to move with the times, and the facilities must be adjusted for those circumstances as well.”
