OXFORD, Miss. – Many organizations struggle with the task
of preserving old photographs, business records and other documents,
but an upcoming workshop at the University of Mississippi will provide
guidance and techniques for safeguarding fragile archives.
The daylong session begins at 9 a.m. Dec. 4 in the J.D. Williams
Library, Room 218. Greg Johnson, associate professor and blues curator,
developed and will teach the workshop.
Space is limited to 20 participants. A completed registration form and
$30 pre-registration fee must be received by Nov. 30. Each participant
gets a notebook of forms and helpful information, and lunch is
provided. No on-site registration is available.
“The workshop is for anyone in small to mid-size organizations
with historical materials who wish to obtain essential information
about collections acquisition, evaluation, processing, access and
evaluation,” said Jennifer Ford, head of archives and special
collections at the J.D. Williams Library. “This is a need that should
be met because we are talking about very important records and
documents that, if preserved, will be beneficial for future
generations.”
The Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board is
co-sponsoring the training with funding from the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission and the Archival Training
Collaborative, a three-year program to provide affordable archival
training in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The ATC program,
established by a $280,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and
Library Services to Louisiana State University, began last year and
runs through June 2011.
Ford serves on the ATC steering committee.
“This grant is important for us because it allows us to help
train people across the state to preserve at-risk materials,” said
Julia Rholes, UM dean of university libraries. “Through this grant, we
can share our expertise and knowledge as a way to give back to the
state. I think that’s terrific.”
The project was proposed after the discovery that historical
repositories in the Gulf Coast region often lack personnel
knowledgeable in historical preservation. ATC hosted three initial
workshops last spring in Baton Rouge, La., Columbus, Miss., and
Birmingham, Ala. Participants use free Web-based educational material,
with an experienced professional available to answer questions and
clarify concepts.
During the second half of the grant period, the project will
focus on developing the organizational and financial structure of one
or more organizations to continue offering training opportunities after
the grant funding ends.
“This is the first workshop of this type to be held at the
university,” Johnson said. “I have conducted similar ones at other
institutions around the state.”
For more information, go to http://archivaltraining.org or contact Jennifer Ford at 662-915-7408 or jwford@olemiss.edu.