Library Foyer Exhibit
May – June 2022
Creating and Conserving the Constitution is a touring exhibition that illustrates the historical context of Idaho’s Constitution and recent conservation efforts.
Following a successful fundraising campaign by the Idaho State Historical Society and the Foundation for Idaho History, the Idaho State Archives worked with the Preservation Lab at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library to conserve the Idaho State Constitution in a multi-year project. The process included paper conservation, removing laminate from two of the pages, surface cleaning, tear mending, tape removal, humidifying and flattening the document, and attaching a new custom binding.
ISHS partnered with Idaho Public Television (Idaho PTV) to document the history of the Idaho State Constitution and the conservation work, as part of the Idaho Experience documentary series, titled Idaho Constitution Revealed.
By partnering with public libraries across the state, the Idaho State Archives now seeks to provide access to this important government record. Beginning in Spring 2022, the exhibit will travel between host libraries with installations lasting two months in each community. The exhibit consists of four display banners, a replica of the State Constitution with display case, QR codes linked to related
documents made digitally accessible through the Idaho State Archives’ online platform, and a copy of Idaho PTV’s documentary.
Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) and Idaho constitution expert and ISHS board of trustees member, Ernie Hoidal, came to the Library for the opening of Creating and Conserving the Constitution.
He and other panelists discussed the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889. Learn about the delegates from Alturas County (which includes present day Blaine County) who contributed and debated ideas to be drafted into the constitution and discover how you can access this vital piece of Idaho history and many others in your own home.
