Archival Collection Storage and Rehousing Project

FAIN: PG-51400-11

Philadelphia Camp Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (Philadelphia, PA 19124-3954)
Jack McCarthy (Project Director: May 2010 to January 2013)

The purchase of archival supplies and storage furniture to preserve 120 linear feet of records documenting two Civil War fraternal and heritage organizations, the Grand Army of the Republic and Sons of Union Veterans. These organizations were founded in the aftermath of the war by Union Army veterans as a forum for social and political activities and as a locus for debate and reminiscence about their military service. The archival collections contain organizational records, personal papers, photographs, prints, pamphlets, scrapbooks, and complete sets of two Philadelphia newspapers that span the mid-19th century to the present.

The project will entail purchasing archival shelving and storage supplies to re-house and store some 120 cubic feet of materials that are part of the archives collection of the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum & Library (GARCWM&L). Certified Archivist Jack McCarthy will serve as Consulting Archivist on the project, in which capacity he will coordinate the purchase and installation of the equipment and supplies and work with GARCWM&L board members and volunteers on developing a plan for their use. The project is a follow-up to a currently-concluding NEH-funded project in which the GARCWM&L purchased shelving and storage supplies to re-house and store some 180 cubic feet of the estimated 300 total cubic feet of materials that comprise its archival collection. The new project is designed to ensure proper storage for the estimated 120 remaining cubic feet, particularly the hundreds of oversize items that are currently scattered haphazardly about the GARCWM&L building.