A look back at the Alaska State Museum, an Alaska Purchase Centennial project

Demolition of the Alaska State Museum, August 5, 2014. Photo by Damon Stuebner.

The Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff Library, Archives, and Museum is being constructed on the site of the old Alaska State Museum in downtown Juneau. Last summer, the Alaska State Museum, a distinctive boxy building covered in a flicker feather motif, was torn down to make room for SLAM's new exhibit galleries, classrooms, reading rooms, and offices.

The Alaska Centennial Commission, 1966. Vernon Farbes and Senator Ernest Gruening hold a conceptual painting of the museum building. Alaska State Library - Historical Collections. ASL-Alaska-State-Museum-1.

The Alaska State Museum was constructed in 1967 as part of the Alaska Purchase Centennial celebrations, which commemorated the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia. Although the Museum was a state facility, the community of Juneau embraced it as their own. State and federal contributions didn't cover the $1.2 million price tag, so residents of Juneau voted to increase local sales tax by 1% for a year to raise the remaining funds.

For 47 years, the Alaska State Museum was a gem of downtown Juneau, attracting artists, researchers, culture-bearers, and visitors from around the world. Although supportive of the SLAM project, many people were upset by the idea of demolishing the Museum. Part of the effort to mitigate its loss was an attempt to save two of the flicker feather panels, which could be incorporated into the landscaping of the new SLAM. Unfortunately, the panels were irreversibly adhered to the structure of the building and were impossible to remove intact.

Over 1,000 people said good-bye to the Museum at its Final Friday event, February 28, 2014. Photo courtesy of Carl Brodersen.

A more successful part of the mitigation plan is the publication of The View from the Future, 2017: Fifty Years after the Alaska Purchase Centennial. Editor Trisha Brown worked with writers and photographers around the state to revisit the Alaska Purchase Centennial projects and examine their social and economic impacts through photos and interviews with Centennial Commission members, historians, and other Alaskans.

The Library's copy of the book - excuse the glare off the mylar cover!

We'll take a closer look at the book and the Centennial projects in future posts.

Naming the SLAM

On Tuesday, Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed SB63, which officially names our new building, affectionately called the SLAM, after two great Alaskans. The building's formal name will be the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum.

Governor Walker signing SB63 at the Alaska State Library Historical Collections. Behind him from left to right: legislative aide Bianca Carpeneti, Education & Early Development Commissioner Mike Hanley, Deputy Director of Libraries, Archives, and Museums Bob Banghart, Mayor Merrill Sanford, Representative Sam Kito III, Senator Dennis Egan, and legislative intern Heather Evoy.

From 1919 until his death in 1940, Father Kashevaroff served as the first curator and librarian of the Alaska Historical Museum and Library. Although the institution was created by an act of Congress in 1900, it didn't open its doors until 1920, and Father Kashevaroff personally greeted the visitors.

Reverend A.P. Kashevaroff standing outside the Alaska Historical Museum
P243-3-007

Father Kashevaroff was uniquely positioned to lead the fledgling institution. As a Russian Orthodox priest with Alaska Native heritage, Kashevaroff had a deep interest in Alaska's history and culture. His strong relationships with Alaska Native and Russian American communities allowed him to acquire the objects that form the foundation of the Alaska State Museum's collections and to advocate for the library and museum.

The Reading Room on the second floor will be named for Representative Richard Foster of Nome, who served in the Alaska legislature from 1989 until his death in 2009. Representative Foster was a Democrat who often caucused with the Republicans, and was well-known for crossing party lines to benefit his community. He was also a great user of the Alaska State Library, and would walk from the Capitol to the library and the archives to read newspapers and research Alaska's history.

Representative Richard Foster
Alaska State Library Historical Collections Portrait File

We look forward to opening the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives, and Museum and Representative Richard Foster Reading Room next spring. We'll be honored to work in a place bearing the names of these two men and we hope to see you there, helping us write the next chapter in the State Library, Archives, and Museum story.

More on the naming of SLAM:

• Read the full text of bill SB63
• See KTOO's Lisa Phu report on the signing of SB 63 
• Read a biography of Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff
• Watch Dorene Lorenz's five-part series on the Kashevaroff family legacy on Your Alaska Link
• Read an article reporting Representative Richard Foster's death in the Alaska Dispatch News
• Read Senator Lisa Murkowski's statement on the passing of Representative Richard Foster

How many libraries in Alaska?

Question: I'm wondering how many libraries are in Alaska.

Answer: The answer to this question depends on how you're counting libraries. The Alaska State Library could be considered one library, or up to four libraries, if you count the State Library in Juneau, the State Library Historical Collections, and the State Library in Anchorage, which also houses the Talking Book Center. If you limit the question to public libraries only, you can find the answer from the Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) report on public libraries. In the fiscal year 2012 report, published in December 2014, IMLS identified 77 public library systems with 93 outlets, which counts central libraries, branch libraries, and bookmobiles.

Since You Asked! Episode 21: Storytelling at Mudrooms

At Mudrooms, Juneau's monthly storytelling event based on Anchorage's Arctic Entries, seven community members tell seven-minute stories around a theme. Mudrooms is currently in its fourth season and has raised over $28,000 for local charities, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Imagination Library, and AWARE. In this podcast, founders Amanda Compton and Alida Bus talk with librarian Claire Imamura about how Mudrooms got started, the power of stories, and dealing with stage fright.

We had a technical issue at the beginning, but the problem is fixed 1 minute and 31 seconds into the recording. We apologize about the initial sound quality.

Listen to podcast (.mp3)
[ 17 minutes ]
Recorded on December 12, 2014

Learn more about storytelling in Alaska and around the world:

• Mudrooms website: Schedules, sign-ups, resources, and more
• Arctic Entries website:The event that inspired Mudrooms
• Some storytelling resources from the Alaska State Library

Since You Asked! Episode 20: Mango and OWL for Language Learning

Librarian Freya Anderson talks about how she uses Mango Languages and OWL videoconferencing to gain confidence and keep her brain young. Find out more about these great resources, accessible to all Alaska residents with internet access, and how you can join the Alaska State Library's French language discussion group.

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)
[10 minutes]
Recorded on November 12-13, 2014

Find out more:

• SLED
• Mango Languages for Alaska residents
• Language learning resources
• The Alaska OWL Program
• Learning a second language as an adult keeps your brain young, by Jessica Hullinger, in mental_floss, published online July 7, 2014
• What happens in the brain when you learn a language? by Alison Mackey, in The Guardian, published online September 4, 2014