Detroit’s Burton Historical Collection
to Reopen Full-Time
An inventory of the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection, a premier repository for Michigan historical and genealogical materials will soon be complete, signaling its return to full-time operations beginning May 29.
The collection was closed to the public in July 2000 due to flood damage; it remained closed for inventory, opening only for public services on a part-time basis in December. Library officials said the inventory was in anticipation of a state mandate, to take effect in June, requiring government agencies to adopt new standards for recording assets. This includes all the library’s general and special collections.
Library director Maurice B. Wheeler stated, “While some people have been inconvenienced by the reduction of hours at Burton, I am confident that the inventory was the best way to demonstrate responsible stewardship of this important collection.”
John D. DuLong, chair of the Advocates for the Burton Historical Collection, a group of local historians, genealogists, and other interested individuals, told American Libraries that the group is “thrilled” with the reopening. The Advocates organized last November to protest the prolonged closure of the collection and other administration decisions.
Posted March 26, 2001.
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