#17 The Danish Pioneer’s Countdown to Christmas 2014: The Danish American Archive and Library moves toward a Permanent Home in Nebraska

Last year, The Danish Pioneer Newspaper introduced readers to the mission and the important work of the Danish American Archive and Library in Blair, Nebraska. Click HERE to read last year’s story about how the DAAL preserves and treasures the Christmas memories from the past and today. This year, The Danish Pioneer Newspaper introduces readers to the exciting news about the DAAL’s proposed new home. How can you support the DAAL? Please visit them at www.danishamericanarchive.com to learn more.

The Danish American Archive and Library (DAAL) began a journey in July of 2010 when they left the Dana College campus, eventually relocating to their current address on the main street of Blair, Nebraska. Since that time they have continued to grow, thrive, and strengthen and are now ready for the next major step in their journey. The DAAL Board of Directors voted unanimously to join with the Blair Public Library in the construction of a new facility that would house both the Blair library and the DAAL, and the Blair City Council has voted to help facilitate the move. Finding a permanent home for the Archive where they are partnered with a government or educational entity has been one of the long-term goals of the DAAL. With that in mind, the board appointed a Futures Committee in 2013 to investigate their options. For more than a year this committee, comprised of board president Gary Madsen and board members Paul Johnson and Nancy Sempek, focused on three primary opportunities for the future location of the DAAL:

*  The University of Nebraska at Omaha

* Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, which plans to reopen the Dana College campus

* The proposed Blair Public Library building slated for construction in Blair.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha. Because of the exceptionally beneficial community partnership agreement between the DAAL and UNO, a merging of the two institutions seemed like it could work well. However, after the committee met with Chancellor John Christensen it was determined there is no realistic way the University of Nebraska system could offer space or financial support to the DAAL. Chancellor Christensen remains very supportive and wants to do everything in his power to help the Archive succeed. The DAAL wants to continue with the UNO intern program and cooperation on exhibits, both of which have been a tremendous benefit to both the DAAL and UNO.

Midland University/Dana College Campus. Several high-level discussions between the committee and Midland University representatives produced a written proposal from Midland for the DAAL to eventually move back to the Dana College campus. Unfortunately, the projected time to rehabilitate the campus and create a viable space for the DAAL is too far in the future to be practical, and the amount of fundraising required is beyond what the board members are comfortable with. As with UNO, the Archive wants to maintain a close relationship with Midland through internships as well as other cooperative projects.

Click on the image to enlarge picture.

The Blair Public Library. In meeting with both the Blair Public Library leadership and the Blair City Administrator, the committee determined that this option would be the most viable for the DAAL. The Blair City Council has voted to support the construction of a new public library on land the city already owns in a prime location in Blair. The proposed library structure would be 22,000 square feet. Nearly all of the financing for this building has already been raised by the Blair Library Foundation, and sources for the rest have been pinpointed. The library foundation will finance, through a 40-year lease-purchase agreement, a minimum of 2,800 square feet of additional space for the DAAL. Because the DAAL will be sharing space such as the break room, conference room, restrooms, utility rooms and some work space with the library, they will have substantially more useable space than they currently have, even though the total square footage is less. An additional benefit is that they can be tied into the city library technology to better serve their archiving and research needs. By the Blair Library Foundation’s taking the lead and lease-purchasing the new space to the DAAL, it will eliminate the need for collateral or a down payment on a loan, and the monthly payments on the lease-purchase will be substantially less long term than the DAAL now pays in rent.  The DAAL is planning to launch a capital campaign in early 2015 to raise at least $1,000,000 over a 3-year period to pay off the loan more quickly, add more square footage and hire and maintain full-time employees. A planning committee is currently working with the City of Blair, the Blair Public Library and the selected architectural firm to ensure that all of the DAAL’s needs are met in the new building. Construction is projected to begin the spring of 2015, with the building being ready to occupy by the fall of 2016.

“The future of the DAAL looks better than ever,” says Council President Gary Madsen, “and we’re excited about completing this project in a way that guarantees the DAAL will continue to thrive for a long time to come. Partnering with the Blair Public Library is a very good fit for us. Library Director Gayle Roberts has been supportive of us since before we left the Dana campus, and has never wavered in that support. We look forward to working with her, the Library Foundation and the City of Blair’s administration and council.”