Special Colelctions and Archives: Purchase of Preservation Supplies and Environmental Monitoring Equipment
FAIN: PG-252833-17
Davis and Elkins College (Elkins, WV 26241-3971)
Mary Jo DeJoice (Project Director: May 2016 to December 2017)
The purchase of environmental monitoring
equipment and preservation supplies to maintain books, recordings, manuscripts,
and historical objects documenting the history of the college (founded in 1904) and the surrounding region in West
Virginia. Highlights include video, audio, and photographs related to the
folklore and music of Appalachia and the papers of writer Pearl Buck.
Davis & Elkins College will
purchase recommended preservation supplies and environmental monitoring
equipment for their Special Collections and Archives (SCA). Significant to
Appalachian history and culture, the SCA include: the Augusta Collection, an
assemblage of primarily audiovisual material documenting over 40 years of
traditional Appalachian music and dance; the Comstock Collection, including
original manuscripts and correspondence from Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl
Buck; and the College Archives which house records for the Davis & Elkins
Historic District (a National Historic Landmark), as well as from the prolific
Senators Davis and Elkins. These supplies will allow Davis & Elkins College
to continue short-term efforts recommended in a recently completed preservation
assessment to improve current collections care and practices, as well as to
facilitate forward momentum on a comprehensive preservation plan that will act
as a guide for future preservation projects.