Preservation Assessment to Preserve University Archives and Special Collections

FAIN: PG-51564-12

Weber State University (Ogden, UT 84408-0001)
Sarah Langsdon (Project Director: May 2011 to September 2013)

A preservation assessment of the university's archives and special collections, including 45,000 rare books and 3,100 linear feet of manuscripts, photographs, architectural drawings, and political and business records documenting the history of the university and Utah from 1880 through the present. Among the university's key holdings are the records of the Utah Construction Company, which participated in the construction of the Hoover Dam and the Alaska-Canadian Highway, built during World War II for the purpose of connecting Alaska to the contiguous United States.

With the help of a preservation consultant,Weber State University Stewart Library Special Collections and University Archives will undertake a preservation assessment of its holdings to define an optimal, long-term strategy for the care of its collections. After forty years, the library has never had an assessment completed. This assessment will look at the collections including signed first editions, rare books, manuscript collections such as Utah Construction Company/Utah International, diaries, university archives of presidential collections and photographs. These collections are used by humanities scholars regionally (WSU has over 23,000 undergraduate and graduate students), as well as international scholars. This preservation assessment will provide the institution with information pertaining to the following issues: policies related to collection care, repair and replication; current physical facilities and environmental conditions; exhibits; security; and emergency preparedness.

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