Conservation and Preservation Plan for the Dr. Percy V. Williams Collection

FAIN: PG-258416-18

Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. (Bel Air, MD 21014-3539)
Maryanna Skowronski (Project Director: May 2017 to March 2021)

The assessment of nine boxes of photographs, manuscripts, and other documents constituting the Dr. Percy V. Williams Collection. The project will be undertaken by staff at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts who would rehouse the materials to address mold contamination, conduct a condition assessment, and develop a stabilization plan for the historical society. Materials in the Dr. Percy V. Williams Collection include first-hand accounts and government documents pertaining to race relations and the eventual desegregation of the Harford County, Maryland, public school system, which are currently inaccessible to researchers or the general public due to their condition.

The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. is requesting funds to hire a conservation consultant to examine the Papers of Dr. Percy V. Williams, a prominent African-American educator, and create a plan for their conservation and preservation. The collection consists of nine boxes of papers, photographs, and other materials and includes personal and professional items related to Dr. Williams' career as an educator before, during, and after the desegregation of the Harford County Public Schools. Upon the Society's receipt of the items, it was discovered that the papers had been exposed to elements that encouraged the growth of mold, which had then spread throughout the collection. The Society is not equipped to safely work with this collection or make it accessible to the public and requires a plan for the conservation treatment and preservation of these items.