Archive Conservation and Mold Abatement Project HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY GRANT

FAIN: PC-50025-06

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Inc. (New Orleans, LA 70116-2436)
Rachel E. Lyons (Project Director: February 2006 to July 2008)

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Archive holds 3,300 reel-to-reel and taped recordings, 25,000 photographs, and 5,000 audio and video digital media that document the music, arts, culture, and heritage of the New Orleans area. The collection includes interviews with musicians such as James Son Ford Thomas, Allen Toussaint, and Champion Jack Dupree, as well as workshops conducted by Wynton Marsalis, Doc Cheatham, Pharaoh Sanders, and Shirley Caesar. In 2002, the Library of Congress selected 29 of the Archive's recordings for inclusion in the National Recording Registry. During Hurricane Katrina, the Archive had roof damage as well as a loss of power and, hence, air conditioning for the month of September. High temperatures and humidity led to signs of mold on the magnetic media and photographs. A conservation assessment of the collection is needed in order to identify and treat any items with mold or evidence of sticky shed syndrome, a condition affecting magnetic media exposed to prolonged humidity.