Preserving History: An Environmental Assessment of the Greater Southwest Historical Museum

FAIN: PG-50411-08

Greater Southwest Historical Museum (Ardmore, OK 73401-2852)
Kristin Mravinec (Project Director: May 2007 to October 2009)

A general preservation needs assessment of a museum holding furniture, tools, and other artifacts, archaeological materials, textiles, books, and archives related to the history and cultures of Oklahoma and the Southwest from the early 1700s to the 20th century.

The Greater Southwest Historical Museum seeks a Preservation Assistance Grant to hire a consultant to conduct an environmental assessment of its current facilities. The project will evaluate temperature and relative humidity performance of the museum's current heating, ventilation, and air condition system and recommend improvements for creating a stable environment. The assessment would provide low-tech recommendations that would enable the museum's staff to adjust its current climate control systems to function more efficiently within a desirable range. This project will help in understanding and reducing rapid environmental fluctuations that occur on a daily basis to the detriment of the collection relating to the history of south central Oklahoma.