Preservation Assessment for Archival Collections
FAIN: PG-51767-12
Society of the Divine Word (Techny, IL 60082)
Marcia C. Stein (Project Director: May 2011 to July 2013)
The hiring of a consultant to conduct a preservation assessment of archival records, manuscripts, publications, photographs, architectural records, and audiovisual materials documenting the history of the Catholic Church and the missionary activities of the Society of the Divine Word from 1874 through the present.
The Robert M. Myers Archives houses the records of the Chicago Province, the main organizational unit of the Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini, SVD) in North America. The collection consists of the institutional records of the Province, publications of the SVD, and papers of its missionaries from all over the world, as well as those ministering to underserved races and ethnic groups in the United States. Two areas of major interest to outside researchers are the records concerning the work of the SVD with African Americans in the South from 1906-1950 and Fu Jen University in Peking, China prior to the communist take-over in 1949. In addition to paper records and publications, the archives houses photographs, audio/video tapes, and 16 mm. films. The goal of the project is to obtain a complete General Collections Needs Assessment Survey of the Robert M. Myers Archives, to evaluate the preservation of the collection and determine the best preservation and conservation plans for the future.
Media Coverage
National Endowment for the Humanities Awards Grant to the Society of the Divine Word Archives (Media Coverage)
Publication: Theresa Carson
Date: 1/10/2012
Abstract: Feature article on the Chicago Province website describes a book in the archives that needs conservation and relates how the grant for a Preservation Needs Assessment Survey will help the archives preserve its holdings.
URL: http://www.divineword.org