After 50 years of service, the Memorial Union’s art rental program is coming to an end at Iowa State University.

On July 23, the Memorial Union announced that art once part of the program’s collection would be available for purchase.

“It’s a bit of a bittersweet ending,” Letitia Kenemer, the MU arts coordinator, told the Voice. “Ending a program that’s run this long and making sure that it’s the right decision is hard to do.”

Starting in the mid-1970s, the program started as a way to make art accessible, affordable and temporary “for a city and campus continually in transition,” according to a news release from the university.

“It was a way for people to access art at an affordable price,” Kenemer said. “That’s what we want — for more people to have access to art — and I think it filled the need there.”

The rental program had a wide range of art: prints and posters from famous, local and even student artists were made available through the program.

“We had a good mix of things,” Kenemer said. “I think they were appreciated by the people who rented them.”

The program was self-supported, and extra income from rentals helped support exhibits in the Memorial Union Art Gallery, which displays art exhibits throughout the year, hosts art shows, sponsors a poster sale and regularly exhibits student art.

“I think at the time, it was a great idea,” Kenemer said. “Hundreds of people have used this service throughout the years, and we have people who come back every year to switch out the art in their office or their living room or things like that, but at this point, our numbers have gone down.”

The program was breaking even on profit, and between time, space and numbers needed to keep the program running, it was “a lot,” she said.

A collection of nearly 250 pieces of art — once peaking at 300 — will be available to buy at ISU Surplus, 925 Airport Rd., during the first week of August.

Framed posters and prints in a wide range of sizes begin at $10 and up to $45.

Proceeds from the sale will support the MU arts program to help sustain its permanent collection and to help make improvements in the gallery, such as new display cases.

The art sale begins on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at 10 a.m. and ends at noon. This time is set aside for ISU departments, the ISU Research Park, state-funded entities and nonprofits to peruse the collection.

A public sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug 6.