General Preservation Assessment of Lutheran Church Archives

FAIN: PA-51644-06

Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN 56082-1485)
Edith Janet Thorstensson (Project Director: May 2005 to September 2007)

A general preservation survey of library special collections that document the history and culture of Swedish Lutherans in the American Midwest since the 19th century.

A consultant from the Upper Midwest Conservation Association would be retained to conduct a general collections needs assessment survey for the Lutheran Church Archives, which is located in Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library. The survey report would address immediate conservation and preservation issues and provide guidelines for a long-term plan for the ongoing preservation of collections as a whole within the library setting. The survey would address all factors that directly affect the preservation of the archives collections and make recommendations as to how artifacts and rare books might be used for research, teaching, and exhibits without causing harm to fragile items.