DICKINSON (AP) - Dickinson State University's new Theodore Roosevelt Center is open in the back of Stoxen Library, with a fresh coat of navy blue paint and a computer kiosk featuring a bust of the former president.

The center opened this week to coincide with Theodore Roosevelt Symposium at the university.

"It's a chance for a place clear out in North Dakota to be on the cutting edge like major universities," said Rita Ennen, a technical services librarian at Stoxen.

After the center and its complementary Web site are completed, students will have a phenomenal opportunity to access primary research, Ennen said.

The Legislature approved $150,000 to help DSU secure a working relationship with the Library of Congress to place many of Theodore Roosevelt's documents online.

"We're letting the Library of Congress lead us through this process," said Clay Jenkinson, DSU's scholar in residence and the Theodore Roosevelt Center director. "They've already made images of most of his documents."

The Web site is http://www.theodore rooseveltcenter.org.

Jenkinson said he has more than 500,000 documents to choose from in placing Roosevelt's papers on the Web site, and plans to focus on conservation, hunting and the former president's western experiences.

He would like to see a majority of Roosevelt's documents available online by the former president's 150th birthday, which is Oct. 27, 2008.