McFarlin Library Special Collections Preservation Assessment

FAIN: PG-50328-08

University of Tulsa (Tulsa, OK 74104-9700)
I. Marc Carlson (Project Director: May 2007 to March 2009)

A preservation assessment of books, manuscripts, periodicals, maps, and posters in the special collections of McFarlin Library. Collection strengths include archival materials on literary authors, such as James Joyce, V.S. Naipaul, Rebecca West, and F. Scott Fitzgerald; historical resources on Oklahoma and Tulsa; and modernist literature of the early 20th century.

With the proposed Preservation Assistance Grant, the McFarlin Library Special Collections Department will contract with Amigos Library Services to contract with a conservator to conduct a general preservation assessment of the Special Collections and Archives of approximately 163,000 items. This assessment will concentrate on three levels of recommendations: 1) short-term remedial improvements to existing storage space, equipment and conditions; 2) recommendations for improvements on conservation and preservation methods, and 3) recommendations for improving access to fragile materials for the university and the community at large. The project proposed here will focus primarily on the book and manuscript portion of the collections, to ensure an effective assessment and to meet the library's priorities for developing long-term collections care plans.