Preservation Plan for The Lincoln University Special Collections and Archives

FAIN: PG-52272-14

Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (Lincoln University, PA 19352-9141)
Sophia Sotilleo (Project Director: May 2013 to October 2015)

A preservation assessment and development of a preservation plan for the special collections and archives of Lincoln University, the oldest historically black university in the United States. The university's rare books, periodicals, government documents, pamphlets, video and music recordings, photographs, paintings, and other materials document African American and United States history. Examples include a significant Pan-Africanism collection of 7,742 books, 5 musical scores, 18 serials, and numerous photographs and audiovisual materials on efforts to unite African peoples throughout the diaspora, as well as archives of prominent Lincoln alumni, such as a collection of over 4,000 items on the poet Langston Hughes.

The Lincoln University requests funds to hire Thomas F.R. Clareson as a consultant to develop a preservation plan for the University's Special Collections and Archives, which hold several significant collections of extreme importance for understanding African American history and culture as well as the relationship between Lincoln, the nation, and the African continent. Within these collections are numerous rare books, unbound periodicals, unclassed government reports, serials, pamphlets, video and music recordings, photographs, paintings, and other items dating from the mid-nineteenth century through present day. These collections have been used for a wide variety of research, scholarship, educational activities, and exhibitions. Mr. Clareson will conduct a preservation site survey to assess the building condition, review the condition of the collection and storage, and consult on preservation policies and procedures for the collection.