Preservation Specialist Becky Geller leads a workshop on format identification at a South Dakota library. NEH funding has helped the Northeast Document Conservation Center support conservation at organizations throughout the United States. Image courtesy of NEDCC.
Since 1983, the NEH has supported the Northeast Document Conservation Center’s (NEDCC) work protecting cultural heritage collections located in small and mid-sized institutions. More than $10 million in NEH funding has supported NEDCC’s nationwide preservation outreach and education programs and the establishment of a framework that helps institutions protect our digital heritage.
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Preservation Specialist Sean Ferguson talks about the preservation of audiovisual materials. Image courtesy of NEDCC.
Senior Preservation Specialist Frances Harrell speaks at a workshop on digital preservation assessment. Image courtesy of NEDCC.
The NEDCC Preservation Field Services Program provides workshops, webinars, online courses, preservation assessments, reference services, and disaster preparedness advice to cultural heritage professionals in archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, town halls, and similar organizations. Established in 1980, the program has reached hundreds of organizations, primarily in the Northeast United States but extending west to Seattle, north to Minneapolis and Fairbanks, and south to New Orleans, Miami, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. During the past ten years alone, NEH funding has supported 227 in-person workshops, 222 webinars, and 8 online courses reaching more than 11,000 participants. Covering such topics as “Introduction to Preservation,” “Caring for Municipal Records,” and “Preparing Your Disaster Plan,” the training programs are designed to appeal to the needs of smaller organizations with limited budgets. During the same ten-year period, NEDCC staff responded to 155 requests for disaster assistance through its 24/7 Collections Emergency Hotline. Assisting a library in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, NEDCC staff were able to provide tailored guidance for inhibiting mold growth in books that had been exposed to water and humidity, safety procedures for dealing with mold, and information about on-site assistance available from organizations deployed in the area.
A cornerstone of NEDCC’s Preservation Field Services is the preservation needs assessment. This is an on-site consultation that includes discussions with curators and facilities staff, a review of policies and procedures, and an evaluation of a representative sample of collection items. The final product of the assessment—a report that includes best practices and next steps toward preserving collections—often helps organizations secure additional funding that supports years of successful preservation projects.
Senior Preservation Specialist Frances Harrell speaking at a digital collections conference in Seattle. Image courtesy of NEDCC.
NEDCC has supported digitization education since establishing an annual “School for Scanning” conference in 1995 (now called “Digital Directions”). Early initiatives supported institutions as they undertook digital scanning projects and helped them navigate the transition from microfilming to scanning. Later workshops helped staff at libraries, archives, and similar historical organizations establish plans for preservation of their digital assets and to understand the mechanics behind digital repositories. These programs ensure that digitized and born-digital materials remain accessible, despite changes in technology. Most recently, NEDCC’s Digital Assessment Training program developed a nationally-tested framework for assessing digital preservation within an organization. This framework has proven foundational in helping organizations prioritize collections for digitization and then build strategic plans that include the digital preservation of those collections.
