Last weekend Tom Peters, Dean of Library Services on the main Springfield campus of Missouri State University, attended the annual meeting of the Research Route 66 group, which is organized and led by Kaisa Barthuli, the program director of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program of the National Park Service. The meeting was held at the El Vado Motel on old Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This meeting partially overlapped with the annual meeting of The Road Ahead Partnership, one of the principal advocacy groups in the world for Route 66. A joint dinner meeting was held Thursday, and Bill Thomas, Chairman of The Road Head Partnership, made a presentation to the Research Route 66 group on Friday morning. 

The upcoming centennial of The Mother Road in 2026 has energized both groups. Events and celebrations are being discussed and planned. One city, such as Springfield, Missouri, will be selected through a competitive RFP process to host a large 100th birthday celebration. Organizations and businesses associated with Route 66 will be able to apply to use a centennial logo and marketing and outreach kit to raise awareness about the worldwide importance of Route 66.

The Research Route 66 group is discussing some sort of research symposium, perhaps online and in-person, to highlight the substantial research underway about various facets of the key social, cultural, and economic corridor that is the Route 66 transportation corridor. The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is actively seeking funding and community support to build a National/International Route 66 Research Center right on Central Avenue in Albuquerque.