Preservation Assessment of the Humanities Collection at the Alson H. Smith Library

FAIN: PG-51249-11

Shenandoah University (Winchester, VA 22601-5195)
Megan H. Williams (Project Director: May 2010 to October 2012)

Hiring a consultant to undertake a general preservation assessment of special collections at the Alson H. Smith Library. With a focus on music materials, the special collection holds some 37,000 items, including performance editions, hymnals, sheet music, and scores, as well as recordings in a variety of formats. A preservation assessment would provide recommendations and would assist the library in developing appropriate policies and procedures for the long-term care and use of the collection.

The Alson H. Smith Library at Shenandoah University is seeking funding through the NEH Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions to hire a professional consultant from Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) to conduct a general preservation assessment. This proposed project would establish a baseline of professional observations and recommendations regarding existing library conditions, as well as an evaluation of our collection management policies and practices. Based on information from the survey, we hope to prioritize our response to needs and issues discovered, create a preservation plan with short and long-term goals so that we can ensure that our humanities collections will continue to be available for our students, faculty, and general public in the future. The time frame for this project would include an on-site assessment in Spring, 2011 with a final library preservation plan completed by Spring, 2012.