The Lincoln Financial Foundation collection

Following up an earlier post about the closing of the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, there are reports now that the consortium led by the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are out of the running. That's not what I would have expected, so keep that in mind if you should someday hear me make any predictions about the disposal of dead presidents' papers and memorabilia.

It's now down to the Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, on the one hand, and the group who wants to keep the collection in Indiana. A statement from the Allen County Public Library, representing the latter group, can be found here.

I'm not privy to any of the details about the competing bids, but it certainly must be tempting to consolidate Lincoln materials. That would be a boon to serious researchers on small travel budgets, but not necessarily the wisest move from a preservation standpoint. Fire and flood and all that, you know.