DAPHNE, Ala. — Treasured materials held by the Daphne Public Library will be preserved for future generations with help from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’s Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books, DVDs  and online resources donated by the IMLS, the primary source of federal funding of the nation’s museums and libraries. IMLS and its cooperator, the American Association for State and Local History, will award 3,000 free sets of the IMLS bookshelf nationwide by the end of 2009.

The Daphne Public Library has been developing its special collections, which focus mainly on five areas:

The first four areas of the collection contain publications relating primarily to the history and culture of these four geographical divisions throughout all periods of occupation. This historical and cultural information includes general history, natural history, culture, folk culture, geology, archaeology, military history and literary accomplishments of the South, Alabama, Baldwin County and the city of Daphne. The collection includes hardcover and paperback books; pamphlets;  maps and atlases; government publications; biographical dictionaries; city, county and state histories; historical surveys of the state and region; transcripts and other personal papers of longtime Daphne area residents including journals, diaries, letters, memoirs and accounts of the past; and photographic documentation. The fifth area of the collection includes works written by native Alabama authors. The most recent scope of work for the Daphne special collections is the Daphne Oral History Collection Project, which will begin this month.

The Daphne Public Library is being awarded this set of resources based on an application describing the needs and plans for care of its collections. The IMLS bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in history or art museums and in libraries’ special collections.  It addresses topics such as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness and culturally specific conservation issues.

The IMLS bookshelf is a crucial component of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a conservation initiative that the Institute launched in 2006. 

IMLS began the initiative in response to a 2005 study by Heritage Preservation documenting the dire state of the nation’s collections.  The multi-faceted, multi-year initiative shines a nationwide spotlight on the needs of America’s collections, especially those held by smaller institutions, which often lack the human and financial resources necessary to adequately care for their collections.

For more information on the conservation initiative, see www.imls.gov/collections.