The Territorial Archives of the Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DLAM) of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, with funding from a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announces a Preservation Management Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the University of the Virgin Islands Administration and Conference Center on St. Thomas, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, at Florence Williams Public Library’s 2nd floor Little Theater in Christiansted.
Both workshops will be conducted by Thomas Clareson, preservation consultant with LYRASIS Consulting Services. LYRASIS is the largest U.S. regional membership organization serving libraries and information professionals, and is currently leading or involved in ten of the IMLS Statewide Preservation Planning Grants. Clareson is a member of the Board of Trustees of Heritage Preservation, an advisor to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) and a recognized expert in cultural heritage preservation management and emergency/disaster planning. He serves as the territory’s consultant for the IMLS Statewide Planning Grant awarded to DLAM in 2009. The purpose of the grant is to produce a strategic plan for the preservation and conservation of all V.I. cultural collections.
V.I. collections being identified under the planning grant are varied in nature and are maintained and stored in a variety of conditions throughout the territory. Such collections include government documents and private papers, paper-based and electronic formats, paintings and sculpture, botanical specimens and archaeological artifacts, ephemera and furniture, historical buildings and cultural patrimony, and armaments and textiles, to name a few.
The workshops are being offered free of charge, and will enhance the V.I.’s planning efforts by raising awareness about preservation management issues for the territory’s collections.
Principles of preservation management, collection care basics and environmental controls are some of the workshop topics to be covered. Participants will learn about emergency preparedness and disaster planning resources for a variety of collections types and will hear first-hand accounts about some of the specific challenges facing current Virgin Islands collections. Resource guides and handouts will also be provided to attendees.
All collections custodians, collections caregivers and collections managers should plan to attend the workshops. Space is limited, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged. On-site registration on the day of the workshop will be allowed but only as space permits.
For more information and to register, call the Territorial Archives at 774-2362 or e-mail Territorial Coordinator for Archives and Statewide Planning Grant Project Manager Susan Laura Lugo C.A., at SusanLauraLugo@gmail.com .
