Thanks to the support of John Whitaker, a group of generous IWP alumni, and the recommendation of an IWP trustee, IWP raised sufficient funds for a new fire suppression system in the library. This low-oxygen fire suppression system was installed in January.
The system is crucial because it replaces a sprinkler system that would have harmed our library collection. In the event of a fire, the system will pump a combination of halon and inergen gases into the stacks to stop the combustion process.
IWP Library Director Dmitry Kulik said, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the supporters of IWP for their generous donation of funds to acquire and install a new fire suppression system in the IWP Library. This new system will provide enhanced safety measures for the valuable and out-of-print publications housed in our specialized library.”
The IWP library collection currently contains more than 40,000 volumes, including thousands of rare and out-of-print books on U.S. foreign policy and U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence, as well as primary-source Cold War materials on Soviet/Russian/East European affairs and U.S. national security. In addition, the library holds the private collection of the late CIA Director William J. Casey.
The next major need for the IWP library will be to add a specialized shelving system. Currently, there is very limited space in the library for new titles. We hope to raise funds to install a new state-of-the-art movable shelving system which will provide 45% additional shelving space. The approximate cost of this update is $400,000.
The expansion of IWP’s library space will enable our faculty and students to access additional publications that are fundamental to understanding rapidly changing world affairs and provide an outstanding resource for academic excellence.
IWP currently has special collections in storage which can be made available to students once this shelving is installed. They primarily cover topics of history, foreign affairs, diplomacy, and foreign militaries. They include books donated by several former IWP professors: Herb Romerstein, General Walter Jajko, John Dziak, and David Burgess.