General Preservation Assessment, Bowdoin College Library

FAIN: PG-50887-10

Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME 04011-8447)
Richard H.F. Lindemann (Project Director: May 2009 to December 2010)

A general preservation assessment of the library; consultation with the staff to review policies and procedures for preservation, conservation, and disaster preparedness; and recommendations for short-term improvements of environmental conditions. The library's collections, developed over a period of 200 years, exceed one million volumes and include more than 18,000 current print and electronic periodical and newspaper subscriptions, 28,000 audiovisual items, 40,000 maps, and 5,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival records.

The Bowdoin College Library requests a Preservation Assistance Grant of $6,000 to support a general preservation assessment of the Bowdoin College Library. The Library will contract with the Northeast Document Conservation Center [NEDCC] to: 1. perform a general preservation survey of the Library, including an assessment of: the physical and climatic conditions of library facilities; the condition of library print, microform, and media collections; storage and housing practices for special collections (print, manuscript, a/v, digital, and photographic formats). 2. meet with appropriate staff to review current policies and procedures for print preservation and conservation, especially brittle materials and disaster preparedness. 3. prepare a report of findings and make recommendations for short-term improvements of environmental conditions, storage, and handling of materials, and a long-term preservation plan to insure the longevity of the Library's humanities resources.