University of the Arts Library and University Centers Archive Preservation Plan

FAIN: PG-280918-21

University of the Arts (Philadephia, PA 19102-4901)
Caitlin Emma Perkins (Project Director: January 2021 to September 2021)
Shelton Walker (Project Director: September 2021 to January 2026)

The creation of a preservation plan for the University of the Arts (UArts) library’s archival holdings, including those of the university libraries and the university centers. Consultants would conduct an assessment, create recommendations, and hold workshops with UArts students to preserve nearly 150 years of arts education history. UArts is the result of Philadelphia art education institutions growing and merging over time; it began as the companion school to what is now the Philadelphia Museum of Art, continuing to evolve to its current iteration as a university. The archival holdings are diverse in state, condition, and accessibility and reflect the history of art and art pedagogies in Philadelphia from the late nineteenth century to the present. The university libraries’ archives consist of 270 linear feet of materials and vary in formats, including manuscripts, photographs, digital files (both digitized and born-digital formats), audio/visual materials, event posters, exhibition catalogs, regalia and scrapbooks.

The University of the Arts seeks “More Perfect Union” funds to support the creation of a preservation plan for its extensive archival holdings, including those of the University Libraries and the University Centers. This would include the hiring of LYRASIS consultants, to conduct an assessment and create recommendations, and hold workshops with UArts students to preserve nearly 150 years of arts education history, a history that reflects the larger art history of the United States.