Fort Wayne, Ind. (Allen County Public Library) – Indiana is among the finalists to become the permanent home of the Lincoln Financial Foundation’s (LFF) collection of Abraham Lincoln artifacts and documents. The statewide team, led by groups from Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, was informed by the LFF on Tuesday that their proposal is among those making it to the last round of reviews.

“This is a significant step in our journey to secure the collection,” said Ian Rolland, former chairman of the Lincoln Financial Group and the team’s leader. “We are working on plans to meet with organizations that can help fund an endowment to care for and increase accessibility to the collection.”

The primary organizations involved with the effort are the Allen County Public Library and Indiana State Museum. The endowment will be dedicated to pay for expenses at the library and museum to maintain and to make the collection available to the widest possible audience.

The Indiana Historical Society, Indiana State Library and Friends of the Lincoln Museum also are providing significant support. Several additional organizations and individuals, including Governor Mitch Daniels and Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry, also are involved. Later this summer, the team will provide further details about endowment and its progress.

The Allen County Public Library is home to one of the largest genealogical collections in the world and has tremendous expertise in preserving and cataloging rare books, manuscripts and records. The Indiana State Museum has a collection of over 500,000 artifacts and natural history specimens and extensive experience in exhibition development, public programming and collections care. In 2010, the State Museum will host an exhibition of rare Lincoln artifacts from the Library of Congress in honor of the Lincoln Bicentennial.

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