Creating Cold Storage Vault to Preserve Archival Collections Related to Texas History

FAIN: PF-50176-11

University of Texas, Arlington (Arlington, TX 76019-9800)
Ann Hodges (Project Director: December 2010 to July 2014)
Brenda S. McClurkin (Project Director: July 2014 to December 2015)

Construction of a cold storage vault for approximately 5 million photographic negatives held by the library's special collections department providing a visual record of the history and culture of Texas from the late 19th century to the present.

The University of Texas at Arlington Library requests $400,000 to support the construction of a cold storage vault to stabilize and preserve more than 5 million photographic negatives that are at severe risk of imminent loss to accelerating deterioration. The negatives constitute irreplaceable documentation of Texas culture and history and of the natural and built environments of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They are heavily used for a variety of purposes, from scholarly publications to family research to renovation of historic buildings. Consultants have advised that cold storage is the most cost-effective means to preserve the negatives. It will dramatically retard their deterioration, allowing time for selective digitization to proceed in a carefully planned fashion. The funding would build upon a solid foundation created by years of staff work, recent advice received from expert consultants, and the identification of an extremely suitable location for the vault.