Preservation of the Staten Island Local History Collection at the St. George Library Center

FAIN: PG-50160-07

New York Public Library (New York, NY 10016-0109)
Peter Levine (Project Director: May 2006 to October 2008)

The purchase of storage furniture, archival supplies, and environmental monitoring equipment to preserve archives and publications relating to the history of Staten Island.

The New York Public Library's (NYPL) Branch Libraries request $3,249 to begin to preserve its outstanding Staten Island local history collection, housed at the St. George Library Center. One of NYPL's most important Branch collections, these books, maps, atlases, clippings, newspapers, depository documents, phonebooks, and microfilms are used constantly by historians, high school and college students, preservationists, artists, writers, and Island residents seeking a record of the Island's history or of specific neighborhoods, organizations, and events over the last century. Grant funds will support the purchase of archival quality furniture and preservation supplies to rehouse and care for the collection and a data logger to monitor environmental conditions in the reference area where the collection is housed. These preservation activities will help ensure that the local history materials are appropriately housed and cared for so that they are available for future use.