Dear Friends of Save Iowa History, We're excited to see so many signatures on this petition -- 2,662 so far! Thank you for your support. Your comments make clear how many people are invested in the SHSI. We use it to research genealogy, to prepare lessons for high school students, to research buildings that warrant historic designation, to write newspaper stories - even to compose young adult fiction! Some of you write of family papers that have been deposited; others mention papers of your church communities. The more stories we receive like these, the stronger the SHSI becomes. So often, people think of archives as a dusty place that only a few people visit for obscure, scholarly purposes. It's important for our state officials to know about the great diversity of reasons we rely on the SHSI. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to contact the officials listed on the petition as well as Iowa state legislators (https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators). Tell them how the SHSI has been valuable to you. Underscore that we value the state's role in collecting and preserving these materials for the last 150+ years, and that we want to work together to make sure that future generations have the same opportunity. Collecting and preserving records and making them available to the public requires some investment - but it's money well spent to ensure that our history is not lost. Here is a link to a letter signed by 24 faculty members of the University of Iowa Department of History that details our concerns about the plans of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs for the SHSI collections: http://typriest.com/letter-from-university-of-iowa-historians/