Austin Seminary Archives Preservation Assessment and Environmental Monitoring Equipment

FAIN: PG-51911-13

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Austin, TX 78705-5711)
Kristy Kay Sorensen (Project Director: May 2012 to September 2014)

A preservation assessment and the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment and rehousing and emergency response supplies for an archival collection documenting the history of the Austin Theological Seminary and of Presbyterianism in Texas and other southern states. The collection of 500 linear feet of congregational records, photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, and other materials is used by students and scholarly researchers to examine the intersection of religion and culture, especially during the early years of Texas history, and the daily life and work of the people of the region, including women and Mexican-Americans, through the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Austin Seminary Archives is seeking funding to hire a professional conservation consultant to conduct a general preservation assessment of the archives and its holdings, and to purchase environmental monitoring equipment and recommended archival supplies. Our 500 linear feet of processed and unprocessed collections date from the 1850s to the present and document Presbyterianism in Texas and the southwest, and the history and work of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Our repository is open to the public and is used by church historians, genealogists, doctoral candidates, professional historians, and a wide variety of internal researchers, including faculty and students. Due to limited budget and staff, outside assistance is essential in order to assess the environmental needs of our collection and make a case to the administration for changes that will ensure the continued preservation of these culturally valuable materials.