Preservation Assessment to Preserve College Library's Special Collections and Archives

FAIN: PG-51776-12

Knox College (Galesburg, IL 61401-4938)
Jeffrey A. Douglas (Project Director: May 2011 to December 2013)

A preservation assessment of the College's special collections, which focus on the history, geography, and culture of the American Midwest. An extensive collection of manuscripts, maps, and photographs have served student and scholarly research interests, especially in the areas of Civil War and railroad history and in the life and work of Galesburg native Carl Sandburg.

Knox College proposes to conduct a general preservation assessment of its Special Collections and Archives. Totaling over 11,000 titles, the collections are strongest in Americana of the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly in the histories of the Old Northwest Territory, the Mississippi River Valley, the American southwest, and the American Civil War. Project goals are to: (1) create a long range plan that defines the processes, resources and actions required to ensure the long-term preservation of the Special Collections and Archives at Knox College; and (2) integrate a long-range preservation plan for special collections into 2012 institutional strategic and master planning under new presidential leadership, and following successful reaccreditation by the North Central Association of the Higher Learning Commission.