Studying Herbert: U.S. Archivist visits Presidential Museum on eve of Hoover's Hometown Days

Presidential history was front and center Thursday in West Branch.

Just two days before the town of West Branch celebrates the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover's 150th  birthday with Hoover's Hometown Days, Dr. Colleen J. Shogan, the Archivist of the United States, visited the presidential museum and library.

Shogan is the 11th National Archivist in U.S. history and the first appointed woman. She was sworn into office in 2023 and has been on a mission to visit all 15 presidential museums and libraries.

"I've visited almost all the presidential libraries in the National Archives system," Shogan said. "I have a trip to President Ford's library and museum that I will do in September. We have President Carter's library in Atlanta, which I will also do this fall, and then I will visit all the presidential libraries."

Shogan oversees 42 archival facilities nationwide, including the presidential libraries. Since assuming office, she has led a digital renaissance to identify ways to enhance the public accessibility of records while maintaining the facilities.

"It's important that we preserve and protect so that we understand the decisions that were made during these various presidencies, why presidents made those decisions so that we're able to educate ourselves and evaluate those decisions," Shogan said. "The next challenge here at a place like the Hoover Library is (digitizing those materials online.)

So that's something we will be taking back as I travel back to Washington, D.C., and evaluating some of the resources that can be brought to bear here to the who brought to bear here at the Hoover Library so that we can perhaps speed up some of that digitization."

More: Celebrate Herbert Hoover's 150th birthday with Hoover's Hometown Days

Inside Dr. Shogan's Visit

Hoover Library and Museum archivists and curators laid out an interactive exhibition of materials from before, during, and after Hoover's presidency on Thursday. Items included annotated speeches from Hoover, photos of one of many of Hoover's pets in the White House, and colorized photo film from Hoover's goodwill trip to South America, where the idea for Hooverball came from.

Shogan liked artifacts from Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, the best, which included photographs and a few of her dresses.

"We want a lot of people to come to West Branch and to visit this library in person. I'm the number one promoter for in-person visits to come and actually see the library up close and personally and visit the museum," Shogan said. "If you can't do that, we want to be able to put those documents, records, and photographs of some of the films that we saw here today (and get them) online so that everybody can learn about this important history."

More: Herbert Hoover's 150th Birthday: 5 facts about Iowa's only US president

"Hoover 150: A Birthday Celebration"is final exhibit before renovation

A temporary showcase called "Hoover 150: A Birthday Celebration," is the final exhibit before the museum's planned closure until 2026 for remodeling and renovation.

"This is an opportunity to discover the Hoovers in a remarkable way," Thomas Schwartz, director of the library and museum, said in a news release. "This exhibit properly provides a special sendoff to our galleries, sharing the Hoover story in a festive way. With a monumental renovation only months away, we encourage visitors to rediscover the museum one more time before our doors close until 2026."

More: President Herbert Hoover's favorite workout: The history of Hooverball

Shogan stressed the importance of the Hoover Museum and the community supporting it.

"You're really lucky to have this library in this community," Shogan said. "Also to have such a dedicated staff in this community who are extraordinarily knowledgeable, not only about President Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover and their family but once again about that whole era of American history."

Hoover's Hometown Days kick off at 4 p.m. Aug. 9, with a youth Hoover-ball tournament followed by tractor pulls, food, and beer vendors, and a performance by the Mill Creek Band. The festivities continue from 8 a.m. to 8:50 p.m. the following day, with the full lineup of events available online at hooverdays.org.

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: U.S. Archivist visits Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum