Arkansas History Commission

On February 19, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded Connecting to Collections: Statewide Planning Grants to 23 states, including Arkansas, which will be used to create statewide conservation plans for collections held in libraries, museums, and archives.

The Arkansas program is titled “Preserve Arkansas Heritage Project: An IMLS Connecting Collections Planning Grant.” The Arkansas History Commission, the Arkansas State Library, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism will work with Amigos Library Services to conduct 25 one-day site surveys of collections-holding organizations throughout the state and five regional preservation workshops to provide training to staff of museums, libraries, and archives. This initiative will provide a basic understanding of the condition of the physical collections throughout the state while providing basic preservation training.

Under the IMLS program, the selected states will receive $908,206, matched with $621,073 of non-federal funds to foster partnerships among organizations in a state, commonwealth, or territory to provide safe conditions for its collections, develop emergency plans, assign responsibility for collections care, and marshal public and private support for collections care.

This is the second year IMLS has awarded Statewide Planning Grants, an important component of the IMLS initiative, Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action. IMLS launched the initiative in response to the 2005 Heritage Health Index report on the dire state of the nation’s collections.

According to the report by Heritage Preservation, approximately 190 million objects could be lost in just a few short years without immediate attention. The report also found that 65 percent of collecting institutions report damage to collections due to improper storage and 80 percent did not have an emergency plan for their collections or trained staff to carry it out.