FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Revised March 3, 2008
IMLS Press
Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS Holds First Conservation Forum in Atlanta Jan. 31-Feb.
1;
Webcast Available Now
WASHINGTON, DC—Three
hundred museum, library, and archive professionals from
41 states and the District of Columbia gathered in Atlanta
on January 31 and February 1 for the forum, "Preserving
America’s Diverse Heritage," sponsored by the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in partnership
with Heritage Preservation. This was the first of four
meetings around the country held to raise awareness about
the nation’s valuable and endangered collections.
IMLS, the primary source of federal support for the nation’s
museums and libraries, launched the forums as part of
the national initiative, Connecting
to Collections: A Call to Action. The multi-year,
multi-faceted initiative aims to help museums and libraries
save their collections from poor storage conditions, pest
infestation, and exposure to light, humidity, and high
temperatures.
A webcast of Preserving America’s
Diverse Heritage is available at http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/heritage_preservation/080131.
“Yours are collections that truly
touch lives,” IMLS Director Anne-Imelda Radice said
in her opening remarks. “Whether they are African
American, Latino, Asian American, or Native American,
these are memories, family oral histories, letters, and
sound recordings that bring unparalleled perspective to
visitors.” Without immediate attention, some 190
million objects may be lost in only a few short years,
said Radice, citing the Heritage
Health Index report.
Preserving collections is really about “finding
concrete ways to help us all remember,” said Lonnie
G. Bunch III, Keynote Speaker and Director of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“I think about a small table that my institution
collected. It is a small table from a South Carolina plantation,
made of cheap wood that was not meant to last. Yet its
survival speaks volumes about the experiences of the enslaved.
Looking at the indentations – one can almost feel
the hands falling heavily on the table after a long day
in the field – one can only imagine the conversation
of disappointment, fear – but also of hope for a
‘better day’ – and there are thousands
of objects that can help us to remember,” Bunch
said.
Remembering goes beyond preserving objects
in museums and libraries, said Sven Haakanson, Jr., Executive
Director of the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak, AK, and a member
of the Alutiiq people. Inspired by the living traditions
of Nenet reindeer herders in Siberia, with whom he lived
for a year, Haakanson returned to Alaska determined to
reawaken knowledge of Alutiiq culture. He began teaching
Alutiiq youth traditional games, crafts, and language,
which the children then shared with their parents. “We
are helping our community overcome a hurtful past, generating
new dialog about Native traditions, and illustrating the
great power of collaboration,” he wrote in a panel
abstract.
The forum, held at the High Museum of Art
and Woodruff Arts Center, featured panels on the significance
of, and challenges facing, diverse collections, special
issues involved in the care of diverse collections, and
fundamental collections care. The final panel focused
on connecting to funding and the public. Forty percent
of collecting institutions have no funds in their annual
budgets for fundamental collections care. In response
to this need, Shirley Mitchell, Bank of America Senior
Vice President, announced the formation of the American
Heritage Preservation Program by the Bank of America Charitable
Foundation in partnership with IMLS. Some 150 grants of
$3,000 each will be awarded over three years to help preserve
treasures held in small museums, libraries, and archives.
The two organizations will each contribute $225,000 to
the new program.
Bank of America and forum sponsor UPS both
generously contributed to last year’s purchase of
the Martin Luther King, Jr. papers, said Atlanta Mayor
Shirley Franklin. Citizens and businesses raised the $32
million purchase price in just 11 days.
“It shows that people in America want
to save their history,” Franklin said.
National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman
Bruce Cole noted that preserving the nation’s collections
“can’t be done by one agency or one group.
That’s why working together is so important.”
“All of us are in this together,”
Radice said at the forum’s conclusion. “We
care deeply about history and about the legacy we leave
to future generations of learners and citizens. You ensure
that our nation’s most important and diverse collections
live on for future generations. Your history is indeed
our history.”
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