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The National Endowment for the Humanities as part of their Preservation Assessment Grant for Small Institutions recently funded a visit to Special Collections & Archives by nationally known Facilities Consultant, Tom Wilsted.

Tom’s goals for his consultancy included the following:

  • Review existing building plans and collection documents including preservation and emergency plans
  • Travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to meet with library staff to discuss archives and rare book operations
  • Meet with library administrators, facilities and development staff to gain insight into building needs and plans for potential building renovations.
  • Review the existing facilities and collections

Tom submitted his final report in April 2015, and his remarks included thirteen specific recommendations for Special Collections & Archives to implement and/or consider. The report considered the following areas:

  • Building environmental conditions
  • Building security
  • Fire protection
  • Storage conditions
  • Storage equipment
  • Space functionality

In planning for the future, he stated that the funding and renovation of the facilities should be a high priority, for both collections storage and public services.