NEH Chairman's Emergency Grant - College of Humanities

FAIN: PB-261731-18

University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus (San Juan, PR 00925-2512)
Agnes M. Bosch (Project Director: February 2018 to February 2021)

Cleanup, termite fumigation, and the purchase of dehumidifiers, environmental monitoring equipment and preservation and cleaning supplies such as archival boxes, masks, and gloves, for a collection of rare books and manuscripts damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

a. The Multidisciplinary Center hosts some 100,000 bibliographic resources.  It is imperative to isolate materials to control humidity levels, and the surge of moths and termites.  Humidity, fungus and plagues are threatening the collection.  b. The Federico de Onís Seminar holds more than ten thousand rare volumes.  There are some 30,000 volumes in total and some four hundred thousand pieces in the collection.  The passing of the hurricane resulted in the loss of some four hundred objects.  It is necessary to establish humidity controls to avoid the spread of fungus, moths and termites.  c. The Center for Historical Research holds a unique collection of historical materials, including more than ten thousand texts and around fifty-five collections in paper form.  There are also some four thousand documents available in microfilm and over fourteen thousand slides.  The collection is estimated to include some one hundred thousand documents and pieces.