General Preservation Assessment of the Collections and Archives of the Golisano Children's Museums of Naples

FAIN: PG-52556-15

Golisano Children's Museum of Naples (Naples, FL 34109-3808)
Elizabeth Housewert (Project Director: May 2014 to November 2016)

Hiring a consultant to undertake a preservation assessment of the O’Connell World Culture Collection, a mixed collection of 2,000 pieces of art and material culture, 230 audio recordings, 140,000 slide images, and 30 linear feet of archives and travel ephemera documenting world cultures in the 19th and 20th centuries and the travels of Dr. Ernestine O’Connell (1923-2009), a collector who visited over 145 countries during her lifetime.  The collection includes 200 masks, with highlights such as a devil mask from Bolivia, a Garuda mask from Bhutan, and a set of royal masks of the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is used for education about world cultures.

The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (“C’mon”) is requesting $6,000.00 to conduct a preservation assessment of its collections and archives. C’mon’s collection of objects, research, reference materials, photographs and ephemera represent the diversity of people and cultures of over 147 countries. C’mon’s exhibits, programs and collection, provides children with meaningful experiences promoting understanding of various cultures and inspiration to explore the global community. The completion of a preservation assessment will provide short and long term goals for improvements to collection storage, display areas and suggest equipment and supplies that are needed to support those changes. The final report session will provide necessary preservation education and raise awareness to collections care for the Museum staff, Board and Collection Committee members. The assessment and report will provide a basis to apply for future collections care-based grants, to implement recommendations.