IMLS Conservation Bookshelf--addendum

776 Museums, Libraries, and Archives Selected to Receive IMLS
Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

<URL:http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/080508.shtm>

Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and
Library Services (IMLS), announced that 776 museums, libraries, and
archives, representing every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam have been selected to
receive the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. The contents
of the bookshelf were selected by a blue ribbon panel of
conservation experts; it includes an essential set of books, online
resources, and a user's guide that can profoundly affect the ability
of small libraries and museums to care for their collections. To see
the list of recipients, see

    <URL:http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/080508_list.shtm>

   "The Connecting to Collections Bookshelf provides museums,
    libraries, and archives essential instructions on how to rescue
    treasures of yesteryear that they hold in trust," said Radice.
    "These Bookshelves, once they are all distributed, will touch
    institutions around the nation."

The IMLS Bookshelf was made possible by a cooperative agreement with
the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) with
support from the Getty Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and
the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. It is part of Connecting to
Collections: A Call to Action, a strategic initiative by IMLS to
address the challenges described in A Public Trust at Risk: The
Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections.
The report concluded that:

    *   190 million objects need conservation treatment

    *   65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged
        collections due to improper storage

    *   80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan
        for their collections and trained staff to carry it out, and

    *   40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their
        annual budget for preservation and conservation.

Most recipients have small budgets and staff, and have demonstrated
an urgent need for this permanent resource. History museums,
historic houses, and academic libraries with special collections are
especially well represented among the recipients. Ten zoos, aquaria,
botanical gardens, and nature centers are also represented. In
addition, ten art museums with Kress Collection items will receive
the bookshelf with funding from the Kress Foundation. Recipients are
located in 327 of the nation's 435 congressional districts.

   "Given the Getty's longstanding commitment to the care of museum
    and archival collections, we are pleased to partner with IMLS
    and other foundations to provide key conservation resources to
    the institutions that most need them," said Getty Foundation
    Director Deborah Marrow.

   "We are delighted to help make this important material reach so
    many institutions around the country," said Ellen Holtzman,
    Program Director for American Art at the Henry Luce Foundation.

   "The Kress Foundation is delighted to be working with IMLS to
    ensure the broadest possible access to this important reference
    resource," said Max Marmor, President of the Kress Foundation.

The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or
history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added
selection of texts for living collections. It addresses topics
including the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections
management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally
specific conservation issues. Among the publications selected were
The National Trust Manual of Housekeeping (published by the British
National Trust in 2005), the Field Guide to Emergency Response
(published by Heritage Preservation in 2006), and Essentials of
Conservation Biology (published by Primack in 2006).

Based on the enthusiastic response to the bookshelf, IMLS will offer
a third round of competition to distribute an additional 1000
Bookshelves. Applications can be submitted to AASLH between January
5, 2009, and March 9, 2009, at

    <URL:http://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf/>.

Federally-operated institutions, for-profit institutions, and
libraries that do not hold special collections are not eligible to
receive the IMLS Bookshelf. For more information, please contact

    Terry Jackson
    615-320-3203
    jackson<-a t->aaslh< . >org


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