Index of University Press Releases

May 30, 2006

Midwest Art Conservation grant to help
with McGovern Library and archives

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Midwest Art Conservation Center has awarded DWU participation in their 2006 Mentoring Program.

Neil Cockerline, a consultant with the Midwest Art Conservation Center, will visit DWU on May 31 and June 1 to evaluate the university archives and special collections, and to consult with Laurie Langland, university archivist, on developing a plan to relocate the archives and special collections from the Layne Library to the McGovern Library.

“I’m thrilled that we have been awarded this mentorship grant and can benefit from Neil Cockerline’s knowledge and experience,” said Langland. “We have a wide variety of materials in our archives and special collections, including books, papers, photographs, negatives, slides, films, reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes, vinyl records, glass plate negatives, paintings and other types of artwork, and a wide variety of ephemera, including campaign memorabilia, trophies, plaques, and other 3-dimensional objects. Proper storage and preservation of these materials is a prime concern for us, so that they will continue to be appreciated and enjoyed and available to researchers from the DWU community and around the world.”

Dakota Wesleyan University’s special collections include the Senator George McGovern Collection, the Senator Francis H. Case Collection, and the J. Leonard Jennewein Collection.

The McGovern Collection includes approximately 7,000 photographs, campaign memorabilia, and miscellaneous papers, speeches and letters, the majority from McGovern’s post-congressional career and his home offices.

The Case Collection comprises approximately 300 linear feet of records, including Senator Case’s political papers and some personal and family materials.

The Jennewein Collection includes photographs, papers, and oral histories on South Dakota and regional history, as well as materials on Jedediah Smith, Badger Clark and Henry Weston “Preacher” Smith.

The archives of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church will also be housed in the McGovern Library.

Construction of the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Public Service and Leadership is scheduled to be complete in July, at which time the relocation will take place. The archives and special collections will be inaccessible until fall 2006.

More information on the McGovern Library and its official dedication on Oct. 5-7, is available at www.mcgovernlibrary.com.

The Midwest Art Conservation Center Mentoring Program is made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and additional support from The St. Paul Travelers Foundation.