Fund-raising under way for archives collection at UofL Libraries

November 4, 2008

The collection is massive: 1,100 boxes. Project Assistant Kevin Collins will spend 25 hours a week for two years carefully sifting through each box, removing duplicate and published materials, and cataloging and describing the remaining content.

The work is all an effort to preserve and make public the thousands of documents that Romano “Ron” Mazzoli collected during his 24 years as Kentucky’s Third Congressional District Representative. Mazzoli served 12 congresses under six presidents, from Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton.

“Political archives are important because they provide background information and insight into the personalities of the people behind the policy,” says Archivist Kathie Johnson.

“Everything in this collection is interesting,” says Archivist for Manuscript Collections Kathie Johnson.

“Mr. Mazzoli was there during Watergate. He served on the intelligence committee, the judiciary committee. He sponsored the immigration bill.”

That bill is the Simpson-Mazzoli Immigration Act—now known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. It is the last major immigration legislation enacted into U.S. law.

The collection includes letters from constituents, White House and State Department materials, correspondence with political leaders, invitations and committee memos. Once cataloging is completed, the Ron Mazzoli Archives will open to the general public. Archivists anticipate that students, scholars and journalists will be interested in accessing the records.

Making these items available to the public is the purpose of archives, says Johnson.

“Political archives are important because they provide background information and insight into the personalities of the people behind the policy,” she explains. “This information is essential for understanding the political process.”

Mazzoli is a lifelong Louisvillian and earned his law degree from UofL. After retiring from politics, he taught at the UofL School of Law and at Bellarmine University in Louisville. Donating his papers to the University Archives at UofL was an easy choice.

“Louisville is where I was born, where I lived, where I represented and where my family resides,” he says. “Also, when I retired, the first call I got was from [UofL Archivist] Dr. Bill Morison. He wanted to know what I was going to do with my papers,” Mazzoli says.

Goal is to raise $200,000

All of the sorting, preserving and cataloging is expensive. Traci Simonsen, director of development for corporate and foundation relations, says the Libraries hope to raise $200,000 from people interested in the collection. As of early November, they had raised almost $50,000.

“We are so pleased to be able to host these archives and invite people to help fund it,” Simonsen says. “Donated funds will help pay for the costs involved in making these archives available to the public.”

To make a tax-deductible gift to the Ron Mazzoli Archives at the UofL Libraries, contact Simonsen, 502-852-0147. Gifts may also be made online. Type in “Mazzoli Archives” in the “Further Designation” field.