Storage Improvements for Environmentally Sensitive Collection Materials at The Wolfsonian–Florida International University

FAIN: PF-280874-21

Florida International University Board of Trustees (Miami, FL 33199-2516)
Casey Steadman (Project Director: January 2021 to present)

The rehousing of works on paper, photographs, and textiles from an offsite storage facility to new compact shelving and cold storage in the headquarters building, making them more accessible for students, faculty, and researchers.

The Wolfsonian–FIU seeks support to pursue a preservation strategy for several collection components, most notably works on paper, photographs, and textiles. Numbering more than 20,000 items, these materials—posters, fine art prints, design drawings, fabrics, and more—are a vital resource for understanding the political, cultural, and technological developments of the period 1850–1950. They are currently stored in an offsite annex, from which objects must from time to time be transferred to our headquarters building for purposes of exhibitions, photography, and researcher access, a process that exposes them to rapid shifts in temperature and humidity. We will move these collections permanently to our headquarters building and store them in new compact shelving and cold storage. The result will be a more suitable storage environment for these materials, which permits access for students, researchers, and the public without compromising sustainable preservation practices.