Breaking the Mold: The last in a series that explores the current state of ESU’s archives

Bulletin Archive • April 21, 2011

FOR SALE: an old, moldy building that held Emporia State’s archives. $250,000 already spent in renovations.

FOR SALE: an old, moldy building that held Emporia State’s archives. $250,000 already spent in renovations. Tuck-pointing needed. Leaky rock foundation. Water intrusion leads to mold. A bargain for the right buyer. No serious offer declined.

That’s how a classified ad might read for the historic Anderson Library, 1220 C of E Dr., which for the better part of the last decade has housed ESU’s archives. And while the archives are safe from mold and other threats for now, the fate of the Anderson Library is less certain.

“There’s a lot of issues with the building,” said Mark Runge, director of university facilities. “We got to the point here a few years ago where we basically could not do what we needed to do to properly fix the building and at that point we requested to sell the building, receive permission from the legislature to sell the building.”

The Kansas Legislature approved a bill to put the building on the market in March 2007 and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed the bill a month later. Ray Hauke, vice president administration and fiscal affairs, said that because of the downturn in the housing and real estate market, there hasn’t really been much activity on it, except for a few potential buyers who have approached the university about the property.

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“People notice it, it stands out, it’s a historic site,” Hauke said. “We’ve been contacted, asked if we would be interested in selling it. As you might imagine, the bureaucracy to sell a state building is considerable… you always get into a kind of a chicken and egg thing because somebody says ‘Well, would you be interested in selling this?’ ‘Well, we’ve got to ask the legislature, we’ve got to do three independent appraisals, we’ve got to blah, blah, blah’… and the interest wanes.”

Hauke said that the state is looking at buildings that could be sold and that the Anderson Library is one of those buildings. Kansas House Bill 2014 requires the Secretary of Administration to prepare a report to the legislature detailing a priority listing for sale of state land, but that provision is still under negotiation.

Runge acknowledged the potential difficulty of finding a buyer since the building requires renovations and maintenance.

“We’ve done some estimates there’s a considerable amount of money needed to stabilize the foundation and make it waterproof and there’s a lot of tuck-pointing – concrete or mortar is usually good for about 50-75 years and then it just starts deteriorating and tuck-pointing is redoing new mortar… hopefully someone that either can just live without the basement can come in and use it.”

Runge estimates that the university spent $250,000 to fix the Anderson Library in the last six years, on things like the new heating system, roofs, gutters, pointing, maintaining and dehumidifiers.

“We checked the roofs first,” Runge said. “The upper roof is copper. We had a roofing contractor come in and take a look at it. We’re pretty much convinced we’re having problems around the tuck-pointing and windows, plus we have a rock foundation. Part of it is designed to catch the water from the walls.”

The replacement value for the building as of fall 2010 was about $2.5 million while the conditional value, which can range from 0-100, was a 38.

“Thirty-eight is into the area where you should knock the building down,” Runge said. “We don’t want to knock the building down, though.”

In addition to the mold and water intrusion, mice were written about in emails that were given to The Bulletin in response to an Open Records request. In September 2010, Michelle Franklin, reading room supervisor, wrote that they had caught six mice that week.

In October 2009, Franklin wrote to Heather Wade, university archivist:

“We have visitors in the ceiling… running all over from where Shari’s desk used to be over through the old reading room… they are very active and quite unsettling…”

In response, Wade wrote:

“If they don’t drown in the rafter or die of mold poisoning, does that mean that we’ll be OK??? ;)”

SIDEBAR: Building Recommendations

In January 2007, Randy Silverman, the preservation librarian for the University of Utah’s Marriott Library, created a Preservation Planning Study for ESU’s Archives and Special Collections. Silverman’s recommendations for the Archives and Special Collections and the Anderson Memorial Library included:

● Constructing a custom-designed, environmentally controlled, Archival Storage Vault. If the Archival Storage Vault were positioned next to the Anderson Memorial Library, this important historical structure could be renovated (repoint stone masonry; plaster and paint interior walls; provide adequate parking and handicapped access) and continue to serve as a reading room.

● Install a fire suppression system and after-hours motion detection system in Anderson Memorial Library

● Excavate around the base of the Anderson Memorial Library and add French drains to eliminate basement leaking

● Repoint the Anderson Memorial Library’s stone masonry

● Repair cracked plaster in the interior of the Anderson Memorial Library

● Install a lightning rod system on Anderson Memorial Library

● Improve building-level security precautions in William Allen White Library Special Collections and Anderson Memorial Library

● Reduce the UV levels near exhibit case in Anderson Memorial Library with the use of window blinds

SIDEBAR: History of the Building

Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate of Pittsburgh, constructed the building in honor of Col. John B. Anderson, who had mentored Carnegie at the Penn Central Railroad. Two years after Anderson’s death in 1899, Carnegie offered to erect a statue in honor of Anderson. But Anderson’s widow requested that Carnegie construct a building on the College of Emporia’s campus, where one library that contained 600 of Anderson’s books already stood.

The grant from Carnegie was the first he made to an institution of higher learning in the country and the first for a Carnegie library to be built in Kansas.

After the College of Emporia closed in 1974, the campus was purchased by The Way International, a “worldwide, nondenominational Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry headquartered in rural Ohio,” according to its website. The library was re-dedicated in 1986 and in 1987, it was placed on the national register for historic places.

When The Way College closed, the Anderson Library was purchased by Earl Sauder and Joe Cannon and gifted to Emporia State in the 1990s. Initially, there was some debate about what to do with the building, but it was ultimately decided that it should hold archives under the Glennen administration around 1995, Hauke said.

According to Emporia State’s website, some festivities for President Lane’s inauguration were held in the building in 2007.

Kelsey Ryan

Nordstrom eyes entry into discount retailing.

WWD May 20, 1992 | Marlow, Michael SAN DIEGO — Nordstrom Inc. is considering entering the discount market by opening two outlet-type stores that will carry merchandise purchased exclusively for the stores.

The announcement came Tuesday dring Nordstrom’s annual meeting here at the U.S. Grand Hotel. About 200 shareholders attended the meeting, which, despite weaker-than-expected first-quarter results, was more a pep rally with shareholders than a confrontation.

While emphasizing that the core of Nordstrom’s business will continue to be its service-oriented specialty stores, co-chairman Jim Nordstrom said, “This year we are probably going to open one or two outlet stores which will not have our own merchandise and probably not carry the Nordstrom name — we’re not that far along.” He continued, “I hate to talk about things before they happen because you never know if they’ll work, but it is an opportunity and something more to look into. Frankly it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t work, but we’re going in and test the waters.

Nordstrom said the move was being considered partially because of strong sales at 16 Nordstrom Rack units, which offer clearance merchandise from Nordstrom stores. He said a four-level Nordstrom opening later this year in Baltimore in the Towson town Center will contain a Rack on the first floor. go to website nordstrom coupon code

“These Racks — I don’t want to get too technical — but they really make the money,” Nordstrom said with a laugh. “That Rack in Baltimore will probably pay for the other three-fourths of the store for a little while.

During a question-and-answer session between the press and four Nordstrom executives, co-president Raymond Johnson denied the outlet idea is in response to recent disappointing sales figures. He said it was simply the company’s response to what it sees as a growing retail market.

“You’re driving along the freeway and out in middle of nowhere there’s a big mall and invariably it’s an outlet mall,” Johnson said.

In response to a question about the Racks’ volume, the executives squabbled among themselves about whether they should reveal what percentage of Nordstrom’s business is from the Rack. After deciding not to reveal the figure, Johnson characterized the Rack business as “significant” while co-president Darrel Hume insisted it was very little.

During the meeting Nordstrom co-chairman John and Jim Nordstrom admitted recent sales results were disappointing. “All of us up here are not happy with results that we’ve been giving,” said Jim Nordstrom. “We’re as concerned as anybody.

While net sales for the first quarter ended April 30 it increased 8.7 percent from $610,000,000 to $663,000,000, net earnings dipped 15.9 percent, from $25.6 million to $21.5 million.

John Nordstrom said part of the decline came from the extraordinary first quarter last year with its 95 percent earnings increase, the best quarter for Nordstrom ever.

Jim Nordstrom said a better economy and increased emphasis on value should help sales in the remainder of the year. “You have to keep in mind that we do a large percentage of our business on California,” John Nordstrom said. “Our California stores led us through the Eighties, and they probably have been most affected by the softer national economic condition — more affected in any of our other regions.” John Nordstrom also offended the company against charges of racial discrimination. Seven former employees and one current employee have filed a lawsuit in king County Superior Court alleging racial discrimination. see here nordstrom coupon code

“Frankly, that suit flies in the face of not only our commitment to and numbers of our minority employment but more importantly the tremendous success of the thousands of our minority sales people, sales support people and managers,” John Nordstrom said.

Nordstrom also announced the winners of its first, “partners and excellence” award for vendors. The awards were given to Amalfi Shoes; KGR, women’s apparel; Robert Talbott Inc., men’s neckwear, and Wacoal America Inc., intimate apparel.

Marlow, Michael