Idahoans have new opportunity to learn about state constitution at traveling exhibit

Residents across the state will have a new opportunity to learn about the Idaho Constitution, its history and its conservation, according to a press release from the Idaho State Historical Society.

The Idaho State Archives, a division of the historical society, is launching a new traveling exhibition called Creating and Conserving the Constitution in partnership with the Idaho Commission for Libraries. Each community library selected to host the exhibit will feature free public programming on the constitution, including panel discussions with local scholars and the historical society’s Board of Trustees, according to the press release.

Participating libraries will display the exhibit and a replica of the Idaho State Constitution for several weeks. The first stop on the library tour is scheduled for the Community Library in Ketchum, with a public program launching April 28. The exhibit will be on display there until June 25. It will then head to North Idaho to be displayed from July 14 through Aug. 26 at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.

Tour dates for Pocatello’s Idaho State University campus and the Meridian Library District are expected to be announced at a later date, according to the historical society’s website.

“Idaho’s original constitution underwent extensive conservation work in 2019 by the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library Conservation Lab,” the press release said. “Head of Preservation Randy Silverman was able to address several of the 132-year-old document’s issues, thanks to a fundraising campaign by the Foundation for Idaho History. The animal-glue adhesive binding had failed and most of the text block was detached from the spine, an outdated lamination treatment had been applied to the first two pages and caused warping, distortions, and red ink to bleed due to humidity, and grime and tears appeared on pages throughout the text block.”

For information on the tour schedule and exhibit, and to view an online collection of photos and documents related to the Idaho Constitution, go to history.idaho.gov/constitution.