Congressman donates records to Bakersfield College library
| Thursday, Dec 07 2006 01:29 AM
Last Updated Saturday, Mar 28 2009 09:07 AM
Retiring Congressman Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, has collected a lot of awards and goodies over the years.
Among them is a ceremonial sword.
His spokesman has no idea where he got it.
"I wouldn't want to speculate on any of those items," Vince Fong said.
Thomas has donated his congressional documents and other materials to Bakersfield College's library. The first shipment of awards, photos and that sword arrived in 16 crates Wednesday, said Anna Agenjo, Grace Van Dyke Bird Library director.
The Kern Community College District board is expected to approve the gift at its meeting today.
Fong said the congressman, who retires Jan. 2, was busy working on legislation Wednesday and could not comment.
College President Bill Andrews said the school will honor Thomas in late January at the start of the spring semester. That's when the former BC political science professor will be back in town, Andrews said.
The move recognizes the eminence of the college, he said.
"We have a fine library and we have the ability to manage this special collection in the manner it needs to be done in," Andrews said. "It's clear Congressman Thomas is placing great faith in us to handle them in an appropriate manner."
Agenjo said the sword came from The Ripon Society, a Republican public policy advocacy organization, according to its Web site.
Another delivery of an unknown amount should arrive next week, she said. After the start of the year, another 50 to 80 boxes should arrive.
Agenjo did not know the total number of items the library will receive.
The first donation included photos of Thomas in the House of Representatives, a picture of President Bush's 2001 inauguration, and certificates, including one from the city of Taft from 1996. The collection also includes material from his days as a California assemblyman.
The donation has been in the works since November, Agenjo said.
The public cannot access the material for 10 years after Thomas leaves Congress without his permission.
Students, historians and other scholars can access the material with his approval.
The collection will not include classified material, information that infringes on the privacy of living persons and any records belonging to congressional committees, Agenjo said.
The library's archives of college memorabilia is too small for the collection, she said. The school is looking into remodeling part of the library to accommodate it.
The school will be in talks with architects in the next month or two and preliminary plans should be ready soon after the start of the year, Agenjo said.
The college will ask archivists how to handle the collection. The library will have a computerized catalog of the items.
