WKU Kentucky Museum/Library Special Collections Sustainable Environment Planning Project

FAIN: PF-260729-18

Western Kentucky University Research Foundation (Bowling Green, KY 42101-1000)
Sandra L. Staebell (Project Director: December 2017 to October 2022)

A planning project to develop a Preservation Environment Improvement plan for the university’s museum and library special collections, which include 30,000 artifacts, 75,000 books and periodicals, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the history and culture of Kentucky and the surrounding region.  The collections’ strengths include historic quilts, folk and decorative arts, toys, political memorabilia, as well as materials chronicling Kentucky Shakers, the Civil War, and World War II.

The Kentucky Museum and Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University, seek $50,000 to determine best practices for achieving an acceptable preservation environment in the Kentucky Building.  Step one in developing a master preservation plan for the Kentucky Building and Kentucky Museum off-site storage, this project is driven by the results of a 2016-17 NEH Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions (PAG) funded study of the HVAC climate and current fiscal constraints.  The project will evaluate the operational capacity of the existing mechanical systems, review and revise programming priorities for collection storage spaces and exhibition galleries, identify and research macro and microclimate solutions, and produce a “Preservation Environment Improvement Plan” designed to outline the steps required to reach the agreed upon levels of conditioning.  The goal is finding sustainable solutions that enhance performance and improve the preservation environment.