July 19, 2010
July 19, 2010
Urges Exploration of New Uses for "the people's building"
LANSING - In a report to Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, the Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention (MCIR) Board has recommended that the Michigan Library and Historical Center remain "the people's building" and current genealogy collections and resources stay at the facility with adequate funding.
The board also noted that up to 80,000 square feet of space in the Michigan Library and Historical Center could become available within the next two years. It recommended further exploration of three potential uses of the newly available space:
The Innovative Education Center - a non-traditional school experience that fosters the love of learning essential to success by engaging middle and high school students in innovative thinking about the past and the future.
The Michigan Leadership Center - focused on engaging high school youth and others in public policy and political leadership through research, study, debate and negotiation.
The Family History Digital Center - a place where families discover, share and preserve their treasured memories and history.
"This report and its recommendations center on using the Michigan Library and Historical Center as a place of educational excellence, where future leaders can be molded and inspired to learn," said Department of Natural Resources and Environment Director Rebecca Humphries, who chaired the board. "The recommendations also emphasize the value that Michigan citizens place on preserving and sharing our heritage, while pushing to find new partnerships and programs that effectively serve the public - especially youth and families."
The report stresses the need for the state to seek partnerships with other organizations to further explore the feasibility of the three new uses of the facility. Reflecting public testimony, it recommends that the current genealogy collections and resources remain within the Michigan Library and Historical Center with adequate funding. It identifies long-term, stable funding for existing and new programs as a matter of serious concern.
The report notes that Michigan's current economy makes major capital investment in the facility unrealistic and advises, instead, a more fiscally conservative approach, building on existing programs and focusing on the up to 80,000 square feet in the building that will become available as the Library of Michigan eliminates programs and services to reduce expenditures and focus on its core mission.
Mike Smith, board vice-chair and director of the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University, stressed the board's belief that any new programs that come into the building must reinforce and expand its original purposes.
"More than any other state facility, this is the people's building," Smith said. "If space becomes available, it must be filled with functions that are compatible with the building's prominent public role."
Established by Executive Order 2009-36 as amended, the board began meeting in February. It received public testimony at each of its six meetings, convened five focus groups, and reviewed information provided by state agencies.
The Michigan Library and Historical Center currently houses the Library of Michigan, Michigan Department of Education; Services for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth; the Michigan Historical Center (Michigan Historical Museum and Archives of Michigan), Department of Natural Resources and Environment; and the State Historic Preservation Office and Office of the State Archaeologist, Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
For the full text of the report and other information about the board and its work, visit www.michigan.gov/mcir.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state's environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnre.
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