Cornell College Archives Post-Derecho Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-280947-21

Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA 52314-1098)
Megan Yamanishi (Project Director: January 2021 to May 2024)

A general preservation assessment of Cornell College’s archival collection by a preservation consultant to determine whether and to what extent the collection was damaged by the recent derecho and what mitigation efforts are necessary. The Russell D. Cole Library is both the academic library for Cornell College and the public library for Mount Vernon, Iowa. This private/public partnership began with the establishment of the library in 1905 as a Carnegie library, and has survived for over a century, including through a move to a new facility in the 1950s. The archives identify, collect, organize, preserve, and create access to college records and personal papers of faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the college for use by the college community and the general public. Using the site survey, the consultant would also work with the college archivist to develop a roadmap for digital collections, outlining digital collection development, metadata issues, digital preservation issues, and related plans for the college’s digital program.

In August 2020, Cornell College experienced serious damage as a result of derecho that resulted in a federal disaster declaration. The library building, which houses the Cornell Archives, experienced roof damage and lost climate control for several weeks, resulting in potential damage to the archive contents. This proposal requests funding for a professional assessment of the Archives to determine the current condition of the collection and what mitigation efforts, if any, are necessary for such damage. This site survey will also be used by the consultant to determine appropriate recommendations for general collections care, policies and practices, storage and handling, environmental conditions, disaster planning, and a roadmap for digital collection. Based on the consultant’s recommendations, Cornell will seek future funding for equipment and training.

Associated Products

ENG 273: Archival Quests (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: ENG 273: Archival Quests
Author: Kirilka (Katy) Stavreva
Abstract: “Archival Quests” integrates the study of fiction and poetry embodying the idea of the archive with hands-on exploration of practical and ethical questions involved in archival work. We will organize, explore, research, and publicize parts of Cornell’s archival record pertaining to literary history (broadly defined). Through a field trip to the University of Iowa Special Collections, we will be introduced to principles and decision-making in shaping the Science Fiction and Popular Culture collections; we will explore some fascinating publications from these collections, practice describing them and developing a research agenda to shed light on the records. Part literary seminar, part archival work in literary history and the history of the book, part guided individualized research, part workshop in editing and e-publishing, “Archival Quests” will culminate in a set of publications and a class exhibition publicizing personal story-telling, short fiction, and/or poetry by creative writers and artists whose work has been archived by Cornell College.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://https://moodle.cornellcollege.edu/course/view.php?id=6032
Primary URL Description: This is the Moodle course page for the course. It includes the syllabus, course schedule, assignment descriptions, and other details for students enrolled in the course. A Cornell College login is required.
Secondary URL: http://https://moodle.cornellcollege.edu/fetch/index.php?file=ad78717b5ff9df1423453c7333b0f5b15f0355fd&filename=ENG+7-273+Archival+Quests+Syllabus.pdf&mime=application%2Fpdf
Secondary URL Description: This is the publicly-available syllabus for the course.
Audience: Undergraduate

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