IMLS Grants awarded

IMLS awards almost $2.8 million for critical conservation at the
nation's museums

Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS), announced the 34 museum recipients of the 2008
Conservation Project Support (CPS) grants totaling $2.72 million.
The grant program, which began in 1984, helps museums identify
conservation needs and priorities and perform activities to ensure
the safekeeping of its collections. Today, Heritage Preservation
also announced participants of their IMLS-supported Conservation
Assessment Program (<URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP>).

   "These museums lead the field in executing conservation
    activities such as surveys, training, treatment, and
    environmental improvements," Radice said. "By offering coverage
    of a wide range of eligible projects, the CPS program responds
    to institutions' on-the-ground needs."

The Heritage Health Index, a report conducted by IMLS and Heritage
Preservation, found that immediate action is needed to prevent the
loss of millions of irreplaceable artifacts held by archives,
historical societies, libraries, museums, and scientific
organizations. In addition to its ongoing grant support of
conservation projects, IMLS launched Connecting to Collections: A
Call to Action (<URL:http://www.imls.gov/collections)>), a
multi-year conservation initiative that aims to increase public
awareness of the importance of collections care.

CPS grant recipients will match their awards with an additional
$4,380,408. This year, the Institute received 109 applications for a
wide range of projects, including conservation treatment, training,
and surveys. Ten of the 34 grant recipients are first-time CPS
grantees. Museums nationwide of all disciplines, from art to zoo,
are among today's recipients.

Visit <URL:http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/042908_list.shtm> for a
full list of grant recipients by state.

Conservation Project Support grant recipients include:

    The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island's
    largest cultural institution, will conduct an environmental
    survey of its ten historic houses. These important homes,
    subject year after year to the harsh conditions of the northeast
    coastline, will be individually assessed to determine how to
    make the sites safe for collections but still comfortable for
    the visiting public. The 23 buildings and 80 acres are open to
    the public for tours and collectively tell the story of Newport
    from Colonial times through the Gilded Age of the late 19th
    century.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will conserve
    the highest priority ceramic, glass and stucco objects from
    excavations at Iranian city of Nishapur, perhaps the most
    important assemblage of such archaeological materials in the
    United States. The pieces, created between the 9th and 13th
    centuries BCE and excavated between 1935-1940, are in fragile
    condition. After conservation, they will be installed in the new
    Islamic Art Galleries and Study Center, scheduled to open in
    2011.

    The Denver Museum of Nature and Science will improve the
    environmental conditions of its collection of Latin American
    costumes by purchasing new museum and archival standard storage
    cabinets. Proper storage of these items will create new
    opportunities for research and public outreach. The Denver of
    Museum of Nature and Science is the leading resource for
    informal science education and covers six main fields of
    anthropology, geology, health science, paleontology, space
    science and zoology.

    The Midway Village and Museum Center in Rockford, IL, will
    purchase and install new shelving units to furnish its storage
    room. The portion of the collection impacted includes furniture,
    photographs and baskets. Founded in 1968, the purpose of the
    Midway Village and Museum is to collect, preserve and interpret
    the history of the Rockford area. Proper housing of its
    collection will allow its valuable artifacts to be more
    effectively utilized by the museum and increasingly accessible
    to the public.

The next deadline for the CPS grants is October 1, 2008. To learn
more, please visit
<URL:http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/ConservProject.shtm> and
direct questions to

    Christine Henry
    Senior Program Officer
    202-653-4674
    chenry<-a t->imls< . >gov


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