Preservation Assessment of Archive and Manuscript Collections of the A.R. Wentz Library, Lutheran Theological Seminary

FAIN: PG-50465-09

Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg (Gettysburg, PA 17325-1742)
Briant Bohleke (Project Director: May 2008 to October 2010)

A general preservation assessment of 4,300 linear feet of manuscript, archival and audiovisual material, including the Seminary's archives, the personal papers of significant members of the faculty and religious community, and the organizational records of other Lutheran institutions.

An NEH Preservation Grant will support an initial preservation assessment of the archive & manuscript collections in the AR Wentz Library at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG), through a contract with the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia. The assessment will determine steps needed to improve environmental conditions and provide recommendations to guide the library in developing a comprehensive preservation plan for housing rare and archival materials. The LTSG, founded in 1826, is the oldest continuing institution of Lutheran learning in the US. The archives include the founder and president's correspondence, notebooks, the remains of his library; early church and congregational records of nearby Lutheran synods, manuscripts and archives of Seminary professors and other members of the Seminary community, including missionaries to India and Latin America.