Sustaining Rare Maps and Books at the University of Minnesota

FAIN: PF-255804-17

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN 55455-2009)
Kris Kiesling (Project Director: December 2016 to November 2019)

The purchase and installation of shelving, fire suppression, and security equipment to protect the James Ford Bell Library, along with the university’s rare book collection, as part of the relocation of these holdings to the university’s special collections facility.

The Libraries of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities requests an Implementation Grant of $350,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections program. The grant, combined with campus funding, a large private gift, and additional fundraising, will enable the U of M to complete the transfer of its most valuable humanities collections to a sustainable, climate-controlled environment adjacent to updated spaces for research services and instruction. The total project cost is estimated at $1.8 million. Pre-design and schematic design phases have been completed, and the project is scheduled for completion in Spring 2018. The requested grant will support the purchase and installation of customized shelving to store maps and rare books in the underground caverns of the Elmer L. Andersen Library, a component of a larger project.