Preservation of Collections on Women's Lives HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY GRANT

FAIN: PC-50007-06

Administrators of the Tulane Educational Fund, The (New Orleans, LA 70118-5698)
Susan Tucker (Project Director: October 2005 to May 2007)
Beth Willinger (Co Project Director: October 2005 to May 2007)

Tulane University's Newcomb College Center for Research on Women in New Orleans holds an exceptional archival collection of historic materials on women in the Gulf South region. These materials include books, correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and works of art on paper. They support research and public programs in women's history, with extensive documentation of such topics as women's education, the status of women, culinary history of the South, and women in public life. In the flooding from Hurricane Katrina, some books and archival materials were water-damaged, and the damp conditions in the center's building fostered the growth of mold. Wet materials were moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where they were frozen and will be dried. Selected 19th-century materials have been sent to a firm in Chicago for conservation treatment. The center's building has been cooled and de-humidified, although Hurricane Rita halted this process for several days. All damaged collections have been removed, and efforts are underway to remove mold from materials and stabilize the environment of the storage areas.