Preservation Assessment for the George Mason University Libraries Special Collections & Archives

FAIN: PG-51970-13

George Mason University (Fairfax, VA 22030-4444)
Yvonne Carignan (Project Director: May 2012 to March 2015)

A preservation assessment of over 7,000 rare books and over 300 archival collections, including documents and photographs for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theater Project, which helped to keep the bankrupted theater industry alive in the 1930s, produced innovative theater, and was noted for employing African Americans. Other collection strengths include the papers of Virginia state legislators and members of the United States Congress, as well as photograph collections documenting American political and cultural history. The development of a preservation plan will serve long-term goals for collection care and also inform procedures for the upcoming move of the Special Collections and Archives to a new location.

George Mason University Libraries requests funding to hire an experienced preservation consultant to conduct a preservation assessment of humanities collections in Special Collections & Archives (SC&A), draft a preservation plan, and prepare to move SC&A safely to new space. SC&A includes unique/rare materials that support Mason's research and teaching missions and serve researchers worldwide. Collection development focuses on the history of transportation/planning, government/politics, performing arts, and Northern Virginia. SC&A's University Archives documents Mason's history, and its Oral History Program complements the University Archives and other collections with thousands of interviews. Rare book collections support strengths mentioned above as well as featuring artists' books, book arts and printmaking, antiquarian cookbooks, and the history of science.