The day of the discovery of the old records, they were moved inside to the town hall. They were stored for years in an unsafe area with variating temperatures. The town hall provides a stable environment with controlled temperatures and lighting. The area of storage now is also secure. Shortly after, the President of the historical society consulted with an advisor from the Local Historical Service Agency. She also attended preservation workshops. She came back and showed several volunteers from our organization the preservation process. The documents completed have been inspected, unwrapped from bundles, unfolded properly, rehoused into acid free bags, individually, placed into acid free boxes and indexed.

If the agency has invested in environmental controls for a records storage facility this would be a significant conservation/preservation activity (and an expensive one) which the application should point out. Neither the response here nor the discussion of environmental conditions in the storage area under "Plan of Work" provides any specific information.

Unlike acid-free folders, "acid-free bags" are not a standard protective enclosure (none of the reviewers had even heard of them), so neither their use nor their function should be taken for granted. Are these a local innovation? If so, how are they used? Does one size fit all (which sounds like a bad idea for these types of materials)? Are they sealed? Where do they come from?

There must be some funds available for conservation/preservation (for boxes, folders, "bags," etc.), but how much? What is the source of funding--the institutional budget, a grant, a gift?

1. Institutional conservation/preservation activities

Preservation of the collection represents a new venture for the Library. It is unusual for a community library to have an historical collection of major importance to maintain. However, we have a deep commitment to this special project because of its tremendous value to the people and town we serve. The Library has a special local history room. The shelving and some equipment are in place, including and Apple IIe microcomputer to assist in indexing and other collection management functions.

A survey of the Collection was made in September 1988 (Appendix D.)

The survey describes both its content and condition of the collection. The fee for the survey was paid by the Library. Institutional funding in the form of staff time will be used during the funding period. In addition, some institutional funding would be available for critical preservation work.

The Library's mission statement says that the preservation of the historic collection is one of the institutions most important goals. In addition to its ongoing program of microfilming and phase boxing, a public relations campaign will be carried out in 1989 to inform users of the historic value of the collection and to make them aware of the preservation problems associated with documentary materials. Several bookmark-format handouts describing the Library's preservation activities will be prepared and distributed to all users, and two public programs on preservation topics are being planned.

The library has funded three surveys to assist with the development of its long-range plan for preservation. The first, a field survey by the regional conservation center, assessed our environmental conditions. The Library has already implemented many of the recommendations. The Library staff also made sure that the center's recommendations were available to the Board of Trustees during its discussions of the renovation plan currently being discussed with an architectural and engineering consultant.

The other two surveys were conducted by a curator from the State Archives and a conservator in private practice. Conducted at the same time, these two surveys identified bibliographically and historically significant collections in the Library's archives, identified specific preservation problems, and outlined a number of possible treatment options. These surveys have been used to set treatment priorities for the collections.

The Library has a regular line item in the operating budget for preservation activities. This includes the purchase of appropriate supplies, and funds for the rebinding and phase boxing of targeted items. The amount included in the 1988 budget (exclusive of grant or gift funds) is $2,000, approximately three percent of the Library's materials budget. In the previous year an additional $1,000 was raised by the Library's volunteers for a scrapbook microfilming project.

1. Institutional conservation/preservation activities

All collections are handled in accordance with professional principles of conservation and with the agency's own Collections Management Policy. Air conditioning and humidity controls were added in 1988 with New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) funding. Currently, a subsequent grant application has been sent to NYSCA for air conditioning and humidity controls in our exhibit gallery. All windows in collections areas and the exhibit gallery are covered with closed venetian blinds, and rooms are illuminated by UV-shielded fluorescent fixtures and high-pressure sodium lamps. Archival quality materials are used for enclosure and storage of collections. In 1988, we completed and in-house project of producing research-use copies of the photographic collection. In 1989, we expect to use our Memorial Fund for conservation of two 1852 Elmira maps.

The majority of the Society's conservation surveys and treatments on materials have been funded by outside sources. Our past history of receiving NYSCA conservation grants began in 1983. Since then, the Society has received NYSCA funding almost every year for professional conservator's fees, including paper conservator, XXXX; photograph conservator, XXXX; anthropological conservator, XXXX; the Regional Conservation Center; the Regional Art in 1987 allowed conservation of a photograph, several works of art on paper, and historic document, and four maps. Of the items conserved by NYSCA funding over the past five years, were two objects from the Ross Marvin collection which relate directly to his grant proposal - a letter from Robert Peary and Marvin's fur parka. With a grant of $7,000 from the local Cooper Foundation, the Society began in 1987 to microformat the heavily-used obituary files, 265 indexed scrapbooks, 10 19^th century city directories, and 7 local atlases. In 1988, the Society was awarded $4,478 by the Institute of Museum Services (IMS) Conservation Survey grant to conduct a general survey by paper, objects, and textile conservators. The information gained will be used in 1989 to develop a long-range plan for conservation and a priority list of items needing conservation treatment. Funds from the IMS grant will also be utilized to purchase hygrothermographs so that we can better monitor our environmental conditions in storage and exhibit areas.

II. INSTITUTIONAL COMMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION/PRESERVATION

2. Participation in cooperative or regional conservation/preservation activities

Does not apply

Our institution has not yet participated with any other organization in conservation/preservation activities. Our organization is four-years old and this is our first attempt at a preservation project. At this time it would not be feasible for us to work with another organization as there is no one close enough who is interested in this project. We are constantly seeking out information from neighboring historical groups as to the nature of their activities. I am sure that if we ever come across someone who is interested in the same kind of preservation project that we are, we will surely look into cooperative activities.

Even if an organization is new to conservation/preservation--especially if it is new--cooperative activities are a good way to take advantage of other people's experience and expertise. They can save you time and money, and help insure that your planning is adequate for your preservation needs.

A negative copy of the master microfilms resulting from the microfilming project will be deposited at the New York State Library and records will be entered in the NUC and OCLC, as well as locally with the Public Library System and the Library Resources Council.

The Historical Society has on several occasions, helped other centers in the area by providing them with programs and materials which show the unbreakable chain linking the cultural and natural worlds. By demonstrating fading skills such as woodcarving, natural dying, storytelling and the use of medicinal plants, the center hopes to promote public awareness and interest in these skills. We feel it is not possible to teach about either natural or cultural history without discussing the other.

Since 1966 a cooperative agreement between the Public Library and Syracuse University has placed the Smith Collection a rare book collection on the history of books and printing, in the care of the Arents Research Library, where environmental protection, lacking in the Library's Carnegie building, is available. Upon receipt, university staff treated, repaired and provided appropriate protective wrapping for individual items and presently administer access to the collection by the approved researchers. The Collection will move back to the Public Library with the opening of our new facility in 1988.

Since the inception of the Central New York Library Resources Council's (CENTRO) Preservation Committee, a Library professional staff member has served on the Committee. In addition to planning CENTRO-sponsored training workshops the group has surveyed CENTRO members about preservation needs, prepared information on basic preservation kits of value to libraries for all sizes and sought support for disaster planning assistance for all CENTRO libraries.

The CENTRO Committee is organizing a core collection of materials related to conservation/preservation, including nonprint media, and the Library's collection development office is supplementing these resources through purchase of items that do not duplicate, but rather broaden the range of information available locally on relevant topics.

The Library time-shares an OCLC terminal with the University to allow online cataloging of the collection.

The Society participates in conservation planning with MECA (Museums of the Elmira-Corning Area), the Regional Council of Historical Agencies, the Federation of Historical Services, and the Western New York Association of Historical Agencies, including sending staff to conservation workshops and meetings. We are members of the American Association for State and Local History and the American Association of Museums, by whom we are accredited. The Society has worked on conservation surveys and individual treatment with several regional conservation centers - The Conservation Workshop, the Regional Conservation Center; and the Regional Art Conservation Laboratory.

Last modified on January 19, 2000/djr
For questions or comments contact Barbara Lilley
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/cp/cpinscom.htm