A Preservation Needs Assessment Survey of the Vassar College Humanities Collection

FAIN: PG-50368-08

Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0001)
Sabrina Pape (Project Director: May 2007 to December 2009)

A preservation assessment of humanities collections held in the main library's special collections and in the art library and music library. With a particular strength in English and American literature, the collections include books, journals, music scores, videos, sound recordings, microfilm, and maps.

Vassar College seeks funding to conduct a preservation needs assessment survey of the humanities collection in the College Libraries as part of a comprehensive survey of Library holdings. Humanities materials, which constitute 75% of the Libraries' 850,000-item collection, are essential to Vassar's distinctive teaching and learning in the humanities. This grant will allow the College to retain the services of an outside preservation consultant to perform a comprehensive preservation assessment of the Libraries' collections. This survey will be this institution's first step toward a long-term preservation initiative.