桃花直播 celebrates new home of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and Williams Collection of Lincolniana
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斕一ㄖ辈 State, statewide and national leaders heralded the opening today [Nov. 30] of 桃花直播鈥檚 $10 million addition to Mitchell Memorial Library, home of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library and the prestigious Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana.
Leaders in education, history, libraries and government -- including the Librarian of Congress and the Archivist of the United States -- praised the 21,000-sq.-ft. addition. The facility contains a state-of-the-art museum chronicling Grant鈥檚 life and his significance in American history and a gallery dedicated to the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, a recent donation that was considered the largest privately owned Abraham Lincoln collection in America. With hundreds of thousands of historical documents and items housed on-site, the new addition makes 桃花直播 State a leading destination for research on the Civil War and two presidents who shaped the course of American history.
鈥淭he Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana and our remarkable Ulysses S. Grant Collection have made 桃花直播 State and the Grant Presidential Library a truly national center for the study of the American Civil War,鈥 桃花直播 President Mark E. Keenum said.
桃花直播 is one of six universities in the nation housing a presidential library. The Grant Library is managed by the Ulysses S. Grant Association and 桃花直播 under the direction of John F. Marszalek, Grant Association managing editor and executive director, and Frances N. Coleman, 桃花直播 dean of libraries.
![C.D. Smith (left), president of the 桃花直播 Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, visits with John F. Marszalek, Ulysses S. Grant Association managing editor and executive director, during Thursday鈥檚 [Nov. 30] ceremony celebrating the opening of the new addition to 桃花直播鈥檚 Mitchell Memorial Library. (Photo by Megan Bean)](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/Grant_Presidential_Library-Opening_Ceremony_20171130_M4B7126HALF.jpg "C.D. Smith and John F. Marszalek celebrate the new addition to Mitchell Memorial Library.")
鈥淚n 1862, President Lincoln admonished the American people with, 鈥榠t is not that we can imagine better, but can we all do better?鈥 said Ulysses S. Grant Association President Frank J. Williams. 鈥淚 am pleased to say that with these galleries, the collections that support them, the wonderful staff that serve them and the people that use them, we have, in a significant way, done better.鈥
Skip Wyatt of FoilWyatt Architects in Jackson planned the overall facility expansion, and Washington, D.C.-based HealyKohler Design created the interior museum and gallery spaces. The Grant museum contains artifacts and interactive media that allow visitors to engage with the context of the times and discover intimate details of Grant鈥檚 personal life and beliefs. Brooklyn-based StudioEIS created four life-size statues to highlight different phases of Grant鈥檚 life.
Thursday鈥檚 ceremony featured remarks from Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Archivist of the U.S. David Ferriero and other U.S. and 桃花直播 officials.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to give a pledge,鈥 Hayden said. 鈥淵ou will have the full resources and services of the Library of Congress to supplement and be a partner with you as you try to expand these resources here. We wanted to say that publicly here today.鈥
The Grant Presidential Collection consists of some 15,000 linear feet of correspondence, research notes, artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks and memorabilia. There also are 4,000 published monographs on various aspects of Grant鈥檚 life and times. The collection housed at 桃花直播 State is the largest single collection of Grant papers and additional items in the world.
The gallery for the Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana displays, on a rotating basis, more than 100 of the 17,000 priceless artifacts and 12,000 books included in the Williams Collection, which the former Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice and his wife, Virginia, have amassed over several decades. The gallery exhibit includes commentary from Williams on the relevance and importance of featured items.
鈥淟ots of people could take credit for what we are celebrating today, but it was a real team effort,鈥 Ferriero said. 鈥淎s [桃花直播 quarterback] Nick Fitzgerald tweeted on Sunday night, 鈥榓 program is bigger than one person. We pride ourselves on our ability to always give relentless effort.鈥 The results of that relentless effort are evident as I walk around this campus today.鈥
The new addition to Mitchell Memorial Library also contains 桃花直播鈥檚 Congressional and Political Research Center, which houses nine congressional collections, including cornerstone anthologies on 桃花直播 alumni and former U.S. congressmen Sen. John C. Stennis and Rep. G.V. 鈥淪onny鈥 Montgomery. Other collections include those of U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, former U.S. Reps. David Bowen and Alan Nunnelee, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy, former 桃花直播 Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, State Rep. Steve Holland and State Sen. Jack Gordon.
Others speaking at the dedication ceremony were:
--鈥淭housands upon thousands will come to see these exhibits,鈥 桃花直播 Gov. Phil Bryant said. 鈥淭hey will marvel that it is here in 桃花直播 and they will come to know us better. This is a great day for 桃花直播鈥檚 future."
--鈥淭here is no other library like the one we are celebrating today,鈥 U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper said shortly before announcing he would like 桃花直播 Libraries to be the home of his congressional papers. 鈥淭his structure is now a one-of-a-kind collection, including the Frank J. and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana, as well as 桃花直播 State University鈥檚 Congressional and Political Research Center, which houses nine congressional collections, including those of many well-known 桃花直播 alumni 鈥 If it鈥檚 OK with Dean Frances Coleman, I would like to be the 10th.鈥
--鈥淭oday, we鈥檙e reminded of the importance of preserving and protecting the papers and artifacts of our shared history, so that we may study it, learn from it and move forward together, stronger and with greater understanding,鈥 said C.D. Smith, president of the 桃花直播 Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees.
--鈥淭his is going to provide opportunities for all of our students in the state of 桃花直播 and beyond,鈥 桃花直播 Dean of Libraries Frances Coleman said.
--鈥淲e have been fortunate to have people working with us to make sure this project is done right,鈥 said John F. Marszalek, Grant Association managing editor and executive director. 鈥淭he result is before you now for everyone in the nation to see. Our greatest days are ahead of us.鈥
For more information, see the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library website at and the Frank and Virginia Williams Collection website at .
桃花直播 is 桃花直播鈥檚 leading university, available online at .