FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
December 13, 2007
IMLS Press
Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS and AASLH Distribute the First Free Sets
of the Connecting to Collections Bookshelf
-- The Monterey Public
Library’s frog-catching license belonging to Ed
Ricketts, a real-life biologist-philosopher featured in
several John Steinbeck novels.
--The wedding dress of
a tribal elder’s mother held by the Tamastslikt
Cultural Institute in Pendleton, OR.
-- The reconnaissance
map of Omaha Beach made in preparation for the D-Day invasion
during WW II held by the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce,
FL.
WASHINGTON, DC—Many
small and medium-size museums, libraries, and archives
in every state will soon have the tools to preserve these
and many other one-of-a-kind objects that physically connect
us to our stories and our past. The IMLS Connecting to
Collections Bookshelf was shipped yesterday to 212 museum
and library representatives who attended the national
conservation summit in June 2007. The Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) and its cooperator, the American
Association for State and Local History (AASLH), will
award a total of 2,000 free sets of the IMLS Connecting
to Collections Bookshelf by the end of 2008.
The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf
is a crucial component of the Connecting to Collections:
A Call to Action, a conservation initiative that the Institute
launched in 2006. IMLS began the initiative in response
to a 2005 study by Heritage Preservation documenting the
dire state of the nation’s collections. The multi-faceted,
multi-year initiative shines a nationwide spotlight on
the needs of America’s collections, especially those
held by smaller institutions, which often lack the human
and financial resources necessary to adequately care for
their collections. Click
here for more information on the conservation initiative.
The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections
typically found in art or history museums and in libraries'
special collections, with an added selection of texts
for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers.
Click
here to view the IMLS Bookshelf bibliography.
This permanent resource consists of 22 books,
charts, online resources, bibliographic materials, and
other resources essential for the care of collections;
a User’s Guide that describes each resource and
answers common questions about collections care; and a
Guide
to Online Resources containing more than 250 links.
Museums, libraries, and archives wishing
to receive the IMLS Bookshelf can apply by means of a
simple, online application. The first deadline was November
15, 2007, and awardees will be announced February 15,
2008. The next application period runs from March 1, 2008
to April 15, 2008, with recipients announced in July 2008.
Priority will be given to smaller institutions,
but large museums and libraries with special collections
are also eligible to apply. Federally-operated institutions,
for-profit institutions, and libraries that do not hold
special collections are not eligible to receive the IMLS
Bookshelf. For more information on the IMLS Bookshelf,
visit http://www.imls.gov/collections/bookshelf,
email Terry Jackson at jackson@aaslh.org,
or call 615-320-3203.
The IMLS Bookshelf has received generous
support from the Getty Foundation and the Henry Luce Foundation
and expert assistance from Heritage Preservation.
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