Collections Care and Environmental Assessment

FAIN: PG-51286-11

Mohonk Preserve, Inc. (New Paltz, NY 12561-0715)
Paul Huth (Project Director: May 2010 to August 2012)

The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse 3,000 prints and 30 glass plate negatives (1895-1960), as well as 600 negatives (1938-1941) that document the cultural and economic history of the Hudson Valley region, and an assessment of environmental conditions in the storage facility.

An NEH Preservation Assistance Grant will accomplish two tasks that were identified as high priority in a CAP assessment completed in 2009 for Mohonk Preserve, including the Preserve's Daniel Smiley Research Center. The first being the purchase of preservation and storage supplies to re-house a collection of negatives that were found to have vinegar syndrome and silvering caused by adhesives in the current storage envelopes. The second being the procurement of environmental analysis services offered by the Image Permanence Institute (IPI). This service will include five data loggers along with a flash memory drive to upload environmental data directly to the IPI. IPI will deliver an on-site consultation and training covering environmental monitoring and development of a long-term preservation strategy.