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Preservation

For almost four decades since its inception in 1971, the Yale Library's Preservation Department has carried out a comprehensive program of activities designed to preserve the Library's substantial and diverse collections.  This work ranges from conserving medieval manuscripts and the well-used books circulated daily to student and faculty, to rescuing and reformatting the vanishing content of brittle books, video-tapes, motion picture film, digital content and other fragile modern media.  The department's skilled and knowledgeable staff of preservation librarians, conservators, and technicians provides expertise to the Library and the Yale campus on all aspects of preserving objects of cultural heritage.  In addition to treatment and repair, they provide education and outreach to readers and staff and conduct environmental assessments and monitoring of the collections.  The Preservation Department actively participates in campus wide efforts to preserve and conserve the University's cultural heritage resources.  In order to continue its work and position itself to meet the challenges of the future, the Preservation Department requires significant support. 

The Library seeks expendable gifts and grant support at all levels.  We also seek to meet substantial endowment goals to ensure the continuity of key Library programs for preservation.  Among our priorities are:

  Preservation Department Endowment (gifts towards a $5 million endowment goal)

  •  Digital Audio-Visual Reformatting-Initial set up costs are sought to establish quality control processes and procedures for converting audio-visual materials to digital format ($5,000)
  •  Collection-Specific Preservation/Conservation Projects-The Library seeks gifts and grants for Preservation support for a diversity of special collections, for example:
    •  Map Department Globe Collection ($16,000)
    •  Henry Killam Murphy Architectural Papers ($50,000)
    •  Protecting the Asian Scroll Collection ($5,000)
  •  Preservation Internships-The Library will provide leadership in providing summer, 9-month, and year-long internships for preservation administration or conservation students, either as part of a degree program or post-graduate work. ($60,000 per year)
  •  Exhibition Materials Budget-The Library seeks support for the purchase of supplies for library exhibitions, including mat board, labels, book cradle materials, etc. ($4,000 per year)
  • Preservation Database Development-A one-time gift would support a technology position to help finish a database of information related to treatments and other conservation information and the survey tools needed to capture and analyze the conservation needs of the Library collections. ($50,000)
  •  Annual Preservation Lecture Series-The Library seeks funds to cover costs for a proposed public lecture series. ($2,500 per year)
  •  Annual Preservation/Conservation Workshops and Training Programs-This program will support the Preservation Department mandate to inform and educate the Yale community about Library preservation and collection care. ($2,500 per year)
  •  Conservation Research Fund-Support for this fund will provide the development of analytical testing projects informing treatment decisions and adding to the conservation field's body of knowledge. ($5,000 per year)
  •  Conservation Treatment Equipment and Documentation-The Library seeks gifts and grants to support upgrades to vital equipment, including upgrading the department microscope and enabling the use of digital photography for treatment documentation. ($20,000)
  •  Technology Equipment Bundle-The Preservation Department technology equipment needs include tablet PCs used in conservation and collection surveys, and web cams and microphones for virtual consultations among Library locations. ($7,000)
  •  Emergency Response Guides and Supplies-Funds will support updating emergency response guides and other literature for Library-wide use and providing all Library locations with necessary emergency response supplies and staff training. ($4,000 per year)

• West Campus Endowment Fund ($1.5 million and up)
A West Campus Endowment would support the Library Preservation Department in its proposed new location on Yale’s West Campus in West Haven/Orange. Endowment support would include the costs associated with establishing and running the Conservation Research Laboratory, a facility to be shared with the Yale museums.