Environmental Systems for the Archives of the Stearns County Historical Society, Inc.

FAIN: PF-50297-12

Stearns History Museum (St. Cloud, MN 56301-3752)
Charlene Akers (Project Director: December 2011 to September 2013)

An implementation project to install a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for the museum's archival storage area, which contains 1,300 linear feet of documents and business records; over 500,000 photographic images; 1,800 taped oral histories; and 400 architectural blueprints documenting the history of the central Minnesota region.

The Stearns County Historical Society is requesting support for an HVAC system for its 1,300 sq. ft. archival storage area. The total cost for the project is $75,047. Of this amount, $33,503 is requested from NEH. The purchase and installation of the equipment will require three months and two months of evaluation. As a result of installing a designated HVAC system in the archival storage area, temperature and humidity levels will remain stable throughout the year: 68 degrees Fahrenheit, +/- 2 degrees F., and humidity levels will be 40%, +/-5% RH. The efficiency of the system will be 95%. This will result in $2,000 to $3,000 savings for the area. The savings will be applied to the conservation of the archival collection. The 8,000 plus Research Center patrons will have available to them environmentally stable documents, photographs, negatives, oral histories, diaries, and numerous family and business records which can be used to support sound humanities scholarship.