[Preservenw] Free IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

[Gary Menges]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2008

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth at imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner at imls.gov

Museums, Libraries, and Archives Urged to Apply for
Free IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

Apply between January 5, 2009, and March 9, 2009

Washington, DCBased on the enthusiastic response from museum, library and 
archive professionals throughout the country, the Institute of Museum and 
Library Services (IMLS) will offer a third, and final, round of 
competition to distribute an additional 1,000 copies of the IMLS 
Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. Online applications can be submitted 
to the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) between 
January 5, 2009, and March 9, 2009, at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf.

The IMLS Bookshelf, supported in the third application period by the Henry 
Luce Foundation, is a core set of texts that are essential for the care of 
collections. To date, 1,841 IMLS Bookshelves have been distributed to 
cultural heritage institutions. Every state and territory, including 
Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands has 
received a copy of the IMLS Bookshelf.

The IMLS Bookshelf, valued at approximately $800, 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. It addresses such topics as the philosophy 
and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency 
preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues. The final set 
of recipients will also receive a recently published book by the American 
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). The AIC 
Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation is a 
comprehensive guide to photographic equipment, software, and processing 
for those who use digital photography for conservation documentation. The 
complete Bookshelf bibliography and the list of application questions are 
available for review at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf.

Recipients of the IMLS Bookshelf will also receive two guides: The 
Bookshelf Users Guide and the Guide to Online Resources. Both documents 
are available on the IMLS Web Site at www.imls.gov/collections.

The IMLS Bookshelf is part of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, 
a multi-year initiative to help improve the care of our nations 
collections. IMLS began the initiative in response to A Public Trust at 
Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of Americas 
Collections, a 2005 Heritage Preservation study supported by IMLS, which 
concluded that

190 million objects need conservation treatment,
65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to
 	improper storage,
80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan for their
 	collections and trained staff to carry it out, and
40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget
 	for preservation and conservation.

Priority for the IMLS Bookshelf will be given to smaller institutions, but 
large museums and libraries with special collections are also eligible to 
apply. For the third round, organizations such as state libraries and 
museum associations, which may wish to circulate the IMLS Bookshelf within 
their states, are also encouraged 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, email Terry Jackson at jackson at aaslh.org or call 
615-320-3203.