History on the move: Menaul Historical Library planning to renovate future home

Oct. 16—Located in a former boys dormitory on the campus of Menaul School, Bennett Hall now houses a vast collection of records and items related to Southwestern history at the Menaul Historical Library of the Southwest.

Founded in 1974, the library's mission has been to collect and preserve Presbyterian records and related Protestant history in the Southwest. Over those 49 years, it has been able to amass a collection of 8,000 artifacts, books, photos and documents.

According to its website, the library has become an "important repository of history of the Presbyterian presence in the Southwest," serving researchers who come from all over the country and world to view and study the collection.

Not bad, given its humble beginnings.

"The library itself has kind of an unusual start. Someone was looking in the basement at (Donaldson Hall), and at the time it was a dirt basement and it was a potato cellar," said Nancy Montoya, a volunteer at the library. That person digging through the cellar in 1974 was Carolyn Atkins, a Menaul School volunteer.

"Basically, she came across a big safe and when they opened it, they found this treasure trove of all this history," Montoya said.

The discovery would lead to the creation of the library. Atkins moved the items from the basement to a chemistry lab and called upon two of her friends to help sort through the items.

Also that year, the library received a $10,000 planning grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. After several more moves, including back into the basement for a short period of time, the library moved into Bennett Hall, where it has remained since 1985.

Today, the library is staffed by unpaid volunteers — some of whom are Menaul alumni — who share a love of the history surrounding them.

"We do this because we love doing this," said Olga Joyce, director of the library. "It started out that way, and it continues to be a volunteer staff."

While the library is full of history, it is short on space to store that history. Over time, its collection has outgrown its current home, and volunteers and staff have spent the past 15 years looking to move into a larger space.

"We just can't accommodate everything safely the way we should," Montoya said.

After years of searching, its new home ended up right next door at Allison Hall, formerly a dorm itself before being converted into classrooms for middle school students.

A detailed conservation survey done over the course of four days in 2022 gave the library an idea of what renovations Allison Hall would need in order to accommodate the collection and provide the means to preserve it.

"It needs a lot of renovation, so we're in the process of raising money to meet roofing, HVAC systems, and electrical, windows, doors and everything like that," said Lillian Estrada, a library advisory board member.

These needs are just a fraction of what the library is planning to address. Computer upgrades, bathroom fixture upgrades and new parking lot pavement are also on the to-do list. Library volunteer Stann Sandoval roughly estimates the library will need to raise about $1 million in order to pay for the renovations.

"We've raised a little less than half that amount, so we've got a good start on it," Sandoval said.

Funds donated are also going to be used toward construction of new rooms within Allison Hall that will help take the library to the "next level," Estrada said. This includes a wet lab that will allow library staff to make repairs to documents, an archival library and research area, and a conference room/lecture hall for presentations.

The library is planning to renovate and move into Allison Hall in phases, with the first move-in date expected next summer, Sandoval said. It's just another step in preserving a history that means so much to so many.

"Our history is that, it's very personal," Montoya said.