Preservation Assessment for Storage Improvement

FAIN: PA-51552-06

Fitchburg Historical Society (Fitchburg, MA 01420-3111)
Betsy Ann Hannula (Project Director: May 2005 to August 2007)
Susan Roetzer (Project Director: August 2007 to September 2007)

Consultation with a preservation professional to plan for improved storage of artifacts, art, and archival materials that document the history of Fitchburg (known as "Machine City") from its settlement in 1735 to the present and that reflect the city's industrial history.

The Fitchburg Historical Society will contract with a preservation consultant to make recommendations for the future location and best types of storage for the Fitchburg Historical Society collections (estimated 200,000 items) which are currently in our 6000 sq.-ft. headquarters. Last year the Society purchased a 5-story historic building with 14,000 sq. ft. on Main Street. The consultant will make recommendations for the new storage areas and the museum galleries and research library which will display and house artifacts and archives. The report will guide the board, staff, committee and architect’s planning. The grant will also pay for environmentally safe containers for fragile archives which will be packed before being moved.