Formal Risk Assessment for Musselman Library, Gettysburg College

FAIN: PG-50779-10

Gettysburg College (Gettysburg, PA 17325-1483)
Amy Ward (Project Director: May 2009 to January 2010)
Amy Ward (Project Director: January 2010 to October 2011)

A formal risk assessment of the library that will build on existing emergency preparedness and disaster response planning and identify costs associated with the mitigation of risk, so that these costs may be incorporated into the annual budget. The Musselman Library's general collections support undergraduate and faculty teaching and research; in addition, the library holds special collections of rare books, manuscripts, college archives, maps, oral history tapes and transcripts, and Asian art.

A Preservation Assistance Grant would support the contracting of a professional to conduct a formal risk assessment for Musselman Library, Gettysburg College. Since 2001, Musselman Library has written an emergency preparedness plan and created disaster kits with salvage supplies for all staff areas as well as participated in state-wide training initiatives. Musselman Library now seeks funding from NEH to procure a professional to conduct and write a formal risk assessment that would help it move further toward protecting the library's humanities collections from fire, water, and other forms of damage. This risk assessment will identify gaps in our current emergency preparedness plan, and the costs associated with the mitigation of these dangers to the humanities collections. It will outline strategic next steps to take to ensure the safety of our collections.