Special Collections Preservation Assessment, Muhlenberg College

FAIN: PG-50298-08

Muhlenberg College (Allentown, PA 18104-5586)
Diane Koch (Project Director: May 2007 to September 2009)

A preservation assessment of the library's special collections, which include rare books, early 20th-century sheet music, materials on the Pennsylvania Germans, and maps of Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

Muhlenberg College has need of an overall preservation assessment of its various special collections and archives housed in the College's Trexler Library. We seek guidance on identifying immediate and long-term priorities to manage and preserve these valuable collections comprised of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, sheet music, audiovisuals, and ephemera. Arranged in two climate controlled rooms, the collections total approximately 1629 linear feet. Subject areas covered by the collections include music, the arts, literature, religion, languages, and history, and span pre-print material to contemporary publications. The materials are used by students, researchers, and scholars both on-campus, and worldwide. Laura Hortz Stanton will conduct an on-site survey of the collections and create a written report assessing and prioritizing storage, treatment, and supplies needed to best preserve and manage the collections.