Preservation Assessment of Special Collections at the Library of the Fashion Institute of Technology

FAIN: PG-50565-09

FIT (New York, NY 10001-5992)
N.J. Wolfe (Project Director: May 2008 to September 2010)

A general preservation assessment of the library's special collections, and the purchase of equipment to monitor and record temperature and humidity data. The special collections are used not only by faculty and students, but also by exhibition curators and costume designers.

Engage a consultant to conduct an on-site survey of the library's Special Collections, report on the state of the collection focusing on environmental conditions and make recommendations for the future care and development of the collections. Purchase additional hygrothermographs to allow for a complete representation of environmental conditions in all areas of the special collections. The information from these two sources will then be integrated into a larger development plan directed to secure, preserve and expand access to the special collections. The FIT Library's Special Collections houses a wide range of primary research materials in their original formats, including archives, scrapbooks, oral histories, fashion sketches, illustrations, books, journals and other items. Subjects include the apparel industry, fashion and regional costume, textile design and the textile industry, the FIT archives, and, to a lesser extent, art, architecture and interior design.