VINCENTIANS AGREE TO MOVE RARE BOOKS

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Catholic Congregation of the Mission says it will remove the archives, rare books and art objects from its library in Perryville to make room for Southeast Missouri State University's higher education center.

The Vincentians have yet to decide where to store the items from the St. Mary's of the Barrens library.

The Rev. William Hartenbach, provincial superior for the congregation, said the Catholic order is currently reviewing plans for temporary storage so Southeast can lease the library and renovate it for use as a higher education center.

"We understand that the university has a timetable it would like to meet to have its new Perryville campus open by mid-January 2001," Hartenbach said. The university, he said estimates it will take 90 days to renovate the building for classroom use.

Paul Zemitzch, a spokesman for the Vincentians, said plans call for relocating the church archives, rare books and art objects so construction work can start by the first of October.

Congregation officials are expected to decide by year's end where to permanently locate the rare books and other items.

Hartenbach said the issue is complex. A decision could be "several months away," he said.

Zemitzsch said Tuesday that the decision requires input from a number of people in the Catholic church. "It is not a decision that any one person automatically makes," he said.

Southeast Missouri State officials have asked the Vincentians to donate or lease the rare books and art objects to the university. Southeast wants to display the items in a River Campus museum it is planning to build in Cape Girardeau. Congregation officials have yet to act on that request.

Southeast's regents have made it clear that they won't sign a lease agreement to use the library as a higher education center without a commitment by the Vincentians to remove the items from the library so that construction work can proceed.

The Perryville Development Corporation has agreed to spend up to $400,000 to renovate the library.

Don Dickerson, president of the Board of Regents, welcomed the latest announcement from the Vincentians. He said he hopes a building lease will soon be signed.

The rare books and other items are on the second floor of the building. Dickerson said the university needs access to the whole building for the project to proceed. "I think what we can do is make the whole facility usable," he said.