Archives Storage Expansion and Rehousing

FAIN: PG-50955-10

Chippewa Valley Museum, Inc. (Eau Claire, WI 54702-1204)
Carrie M. Ronnander (Project Director: May 2009 to August 2013)

Funding supports the purchase of storage cabinets and preservation supplies for the museum's oversized and fragile photographs, prints, and documents. Included are 1,870 visual resources and archival records pertaining to agriculture and farm life, German immigration, the Native American community, and the area's largest employer, the Gillette/Uniroyal Tire and Rubber Company.

The Chippewa Valley Museum (CVM) is a regional history museum. We interpret a 9,200-square mile area in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin. CVM maintains 21,124 catalogued artifacts and documents, over 20,000 visual images, 755 cubic feet of archival materials, and three historic structures. These collections lie at the heart of a lively humanities-based public program. We request $6,000 for storage furniture and re-housing supplies to reduce overcrowding for oversized (larger than 8.5" x 14") photographs and documents. We will also purchase preservation supplies to house smaller, fragile documents that need more individualized care. Our needs are based on a recent update of our 2000 General Conservation Survey by conservator Neil Cockerline, Midwest Arts Conservation Center. The storage furniture and supplies will help us maintain the safest conditions possible now for CVM collections.