Apply For Free IMLS Connecting To Collections Bookshelf

A simple electronic application for the IMLS Bookshelf is available at www.aaslh.org.

"The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf is a set of 'power tools' that will provide immediate answers to conservation issues faced by museums, libraries, and archives," said IMLS Director Anne-Imelda Radice, Ph.D. "We also hope that the IMLS Bookshelf will spark interest among individuals who will study it and become their institutions' go-to people for conservation matters."

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. It will address such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues. Recipients of the Bookshelf will also receive a user's guide, including an annotated bibliography. A guide to online resources on collections care is also being prepared by Heritage Preservation (HP), a national non-profit organization working to preserve America's collective heritage. Both documents will be available online.

Two panels of experts,* convened by HP, made recommendations to IMLS on the contents of the bookshelf. Among the publications selected were The National Trust Manual of Housekeeping (published by the British National Trust in 2005), the Field Guide to Emergency Response (published by Heritage Preservation in 2006), and Essentials of Conservation Biology (published by Primack in 2006).

The IMLS Bookshelf will be awarded free in two application periods: September 1 – November 15, 2007, with recipients announced in February 2008; and March 1 – April 15, 2008, with recipients announced in July 2008. -- www.imls.gov