Lipscomb University Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-252907-17

Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN 37204-3903)
Elizabeth Rivera (Project Director: May 2016 to June 2019)

A preservation assessment and the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment and preservation supplies for a collection of documents, books, periodicals, photographs, and audiovisual materials covering various aspects of the history of Tennessee, including the founding of the university in Nashville in 1891. 

Lipscomb University seeks a preservation assistance grant to assess the university's collections and develop a long-range preservation plan. Lipscomb's archives tell humanities stories of local, national, and international significance and include records of prominent American Restoration Movement leaders (1800s) and of local civil rights-era history (1900s); a vast collection of Christian hymnals dating back three centuries; letters written by former German POWs to Tennesseans who befriended them during their World War II-era captivity; and garments designed by iconic American fashion designer Ray Halston Frowick.  Through the grant, Lipscomb will retain a professional preservation consultant to assess the collections' physical and environmental storage conditions, as well as evaluate policies and practices that affect the university's preservation efforts. This assessment will be the basis for improved archival practices that ensure the collections' preservation for years to come.