Columbia Archives manager Barbara Kellner makes it a point to get out in the community to educate people about the city's distinctive history.
She leads bike tours around the planned community, runs programs about its quirky street names and is a human encyclopedia for all things relating to Columbia.
But while Kellner may be a familiar face, the Columbia Archives are not nearly as visible. People often tell Kellner that they did not know the archives existed. (They are housed on the second floor of Columbia Association headquarters.)
"It's still a surprise to people that we're here," she said.
Kellner hopes that will change when the archives are moved into a new - and most important, more visible - home on the first floor of the American City Building, next to Columbia Association headquarters.
The archives are closed as staff members prepare for the move. The archives will officially open Dec. 16 at the new location, 10227 Wincopin Circle.
"This is a great opportunity for us to be out there where people are," Kellner said. "It's just another aspect of how we're going to get the history to people."
Columbia Association President Maggie J. Brown said she hopes the new location will attract people walking along the nearby Lake Kittamaqundi waterfront and will allow residents to think of the town beyond "bricks and mortar."
"I think it's fascinating when one looks back as to how Columbia began, that it was a concept from one individual," she said. "When you tell people a lot of this was farm land, it's hard to perceive that when you're looking at a developed community."
Since 1992, the archives - which formerly were managed by an independent nonprofit - have been part of the Columbia Association, moving into the headquarters in the late 1990s.
The archives house an assortment of artifacts from Columbia's 35-year history: property plats from the original land purchases, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia.
A photography exhibit illustrates Columbia's initial development, from when the first parcel was bought in 1962 to residents moving there in 1967.
The largest and most prized possession is the manuscript collection of James W. Rouse, Columbia's founder. After Rouse died in April 1996, his widow, Patty Rouse, donated the collection, which chronicles the developer's career, beginning in the 1930s.
The collection includes some of Rouse's speeches, correspondence, audio and video recordings and scrapbooks, as well as details of his civic and professional activities. Also in the collection is documentation of the Rouse Co., Shopping Center Development Corp. and Community Research and Development.
At least 100 boxes contain Rouse's records on Columbia.
"It's very comprehensive," Kellner said. "The scholars who have used it have been just totally, totally impressed with the depth and breadth of the collection."
The archives primarily attract scholars or students who are researching things that Columbia is known for - urban planning and design, sociology, shopping centers or Rouse's history. On average, about five people visit the archives each week to do research, Kellner said.
Once the material is in the American City Building, next to the Artists' Gallery, Kellner hopes to provide more public exhibits and programs to teach people about Columbia and how it was designed to bring people of all economic backgrounds and races together.
"What I'll be doing is trying to tie together the vision and the reality, to have people understand some of Columbia's unique features and how it all happened," she said.
Kellner is planning the first exhibit, which is to feature artwork by John Levering and Wes Yamaka, who left their Rouse Co. jobs to pursue art and religion. In the 1970s, the men used the Rose Price House in Town Center as an art studio, called the Eye of the Camel.
Kellner said a number of Columbia residents collected the men's work, and that the archive display would feature more than a dozen pieces.
"[The artwork] indicates a lot about Columbia's early days," she said. "And, I think a lot of people who lived here during that early time feel connected to them."
The 1,338-square-foot space in the American City Building is slightly smaller than the archives' current 1,500-square-foot home. But Kellner said that more shelving would allow for storage, providing for more open space for researchers as well as offices for herself and archivist Robin Emrich.
Kellner said she does not expect that the new location will result in an increased the number of people seeking to do research.
But she predicts that it will attract more visitors who are looking for visual ways to learn about Columbia, such as a collection of television news stories about the community, including pieces from CNN and CBS.
Kellner said Columbia's national exposure is "very cool," and it makes her proud.
"I would think that other people would feel a pride in where they live, too, from seeing that [Columbia] was featured in a national news show," she said. "And we'll have the opportunity to show these when people come in."