WSC Library Receives Conservation Collection
Sept. 14, 2009 -- Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Western State College of Colorado Leslie J. Savage Library will be preserved for future generations with help from the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books and online resources donated by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Shannon Eagles, technical services librarian, displays a collection of conservation resources donated by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Eagles wrote and submitted the grant proposal for the collection.
The resources address such topics as collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues.
“These resources will be a great asset to helping us manage our collections of historical records. And, since the books are in our catalog, they will be available to our patrons and also to other libraries through our interlibrary loan program,” said Library Director Nancy Gauss.“The books will be most useful to small museums and historical societies to help them develop best practices in collections management.”
Several of the resources also pertain to the preservation of family heirlooms and photographs, as well as personal collections.
The IMLS Bookshelf is a crucial component of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a conservation initiative launched in 2006. IMLS began the initiative in response to a 2005 study it released in partnership with Heritage Preservation, A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections. The multi-faceted, multi-year initiative focuses on the needs of America’s collections, especially those held by smaller institutions, which often lack the human and financial resources necessary to adequately care for their collections.
