Collection Care: Archives of the H. H. Brimley Memorial Library

FAIN: PG-263537-19

Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC 27611-6928)
Margaret Cotrufo (Project Director: May 2018 to March 2021)

The purchase of preservation supplies for the archives of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. The archives comprise 4155 items, most of them from the administrations of the first two museum directors, H.H. Brimley (1895-1936) and Harry Davis (1937-1966). As part of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the museum represented the state at the World’s Fair and the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta; many of its archival records are connected to these activities. Other items in the collection reflect the museum’s involvement with community organizations, such as Boy Scouts, the Carolina Bird Club, and the North Carolina Academy of Sciences. Grant funds would support the purchase of items recommended in a 2017 conservation assessment, including archival supplies, a fireproof cabinet, environmental data loggers and software, and a HEPA vacuum.

The NEH Preservation Grant will support the acquisition of supplies and tools to improve collections care of the archives of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, housed in the H. H. Brimley Memorial Library. Founded in 1879, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences now finds itself at the forefront of natural science museum research and programing in the United States. The museum field is undergoing profound social and political change, and using the archives and historical collections of the institution affords a unique and engaging way to provide context and continuity as we pursue our mission illuminate the natural world and inspire its conservation. The archives include artifacts, paintings, illustrations, correspondence, receipts, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a few small private collections.