The Kentucky Archivist
Newsletter of the Kentucky Council on Archives
Page Four
The Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. has donated its records to the University of Louisville Archives and Records Center. The collection consists of fifty-five linear feet of material dating from the organization's inception in 1980 to 1997, and includes organizational records, minutes, correspondence, and information and documentation on quilt days; local, national, and international quilt exhibits; traveling exhibits; three books; one scholarly monograph; six issues of a scholarly biannual quilt journal; and general office files.
Organized in 1980, the KQP held its first major exhibit, "Kentucky Quilts 1800-1900," at the Louisville Museum of History & Science, February 5-March 31, 1983. In preparation for this exhibit, the KQP scheduled thirteen "Quilt Days" across the commonwealth with the goal of gathering information on fine and unique examples of antique quilts.
Documentation about the quilts includes slides and photographic prints, along with as much information about and history of each quilt as was known. In conjunction with the exhibit, the KQP published Kentucky Quilts 1800 - 1900, by Jonathan Holstein and John Finley. Following the close of the Louisville exhibit, twenty of the quilts went on tour with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibits Service (SITES), July 1983-May 1985.
In 1991-1992, the second major KQP project, "Louisville Celebrates the American Quilt," included six quilt exhibits in Louisville venues. This series of exhibits initiated its run with four concurrent scholarly conferences under the umbrella title of "American Quilt Celebration Weekend," in February 1992, followed by the publication of a conference lecture monograph, Expanding Quilt Scholarship: The Lectures, Conferences and Other Presentations of "Louisville Celebrates the American Quilt. Following the close of the final exhibit a smaller traveling exhibit "Always There: The African-American Presence in American Quilts" toured the United States from October 1992 through November 1994.
In conjunction with these exhibits KQP published two additional books: Abstract Design in American Quilts: A Biography of an Exhibition, by Jonathan Holstein and Always There: The African-American Presence in American Quilt by Cuesta Benberry. KQP also printed a third edition of the 1982 book, Kentucky Quilts 1800 - 1900. A serial publication, the Quilt Journal, was also initiated during the development of "Louisville Celebrates." Dedicated to the publishing of quilt scholarship, the KQP published five volumes of the Quilt Journal from 1992 to 1995.
Associate Archivist Kathie Johnson began working with Shelly Zegart, a founder of the KQP, in spring 1998 on the acquisition of this collection. UARC is also a participant, (along with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the Illinois State Museum, the Michigan State University Museum, the Tennessee State Library and Museum) in a grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities, submitted by Michigan State University and H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences OnLine in partnership with the Alliance for American Quilts, for the pilot-phase development and activation of a "Quilt Index." This searchable on-line index would serve as a central source for images and documentation about quilts from all around the United States, along with finding aids and bibliographies of secondary materials. The grant application was submitted in June 1998, and resubmitted in June 1999.
Submitted by Kathie Johnson
The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) announces the publication of the third edition of Preservation of Library & Archival Materials: A Manual, in hardcover. This revised and expanded edition, edited by Sherelyn Ogden, has been available electronically on the NEDCC Web site since March 1999, but this is the first time it has appeared in printed form. Rapid technical changes and their impact on the preservation profession prompted NEDCC to update and expand the manual by adding important contemporary topics that were not included in the previous edition. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a Federal agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning, has supported this project. In addition, NEDCC receives major funding for its field service program from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The purpose of the manual is to provide the basic, practical information needed to enable non-conservator staff of libraries, archives, and museums to plan and implement sound collections care programs. It is intended for those who must make decisions that affect preservation of collections, or who want to upgrade standards of care in order to better preserve materials.
The manual is approximately 412 pages in length and is comprised of 50 individual technical leaflets. Every leaflet from the first two editions has been updated to reflect new information and changing opinions. In addition, the third edition contains eight new leaflets, including "Digital Technology Made Simpler;" "The Relevance of Preservation in a Digital World;" "Preservation Assessment and Planning; An Introduction to Fire Detection, Alarm, and Automatic Fire Sprinklers;" "Collections Security; Planning and Prevention for Libraries and Archives;" and more.
The manual is one of few preservation publications written in layman's language that is an authoritative reference source for up-to-date scientific research. Sections include planning and prioritizing, the environment, emergency management, storage and handling, reformatting, and conservation procedures. Professional illustrations make the "how-to" leaflets easy to understand and use.
The Northeast Document Conservation Center is a nonprofit regional conservation center specializing in the conservation of paper-based materials including books, documents, photographs, architectural drawings, maps, posters, wallpaper, and works of art on paper. For outside clients, it performs paper conservation, book binding, preservation microfilming, and duplication of photographic negatives.
Its purpose is to provide the highest quality conservation services and to serve as a source of consultation and training for institutions that hold paper-based collections.
To obtain a copy of Preservation of Library and Archival Materials: A Manual, send a check made out to NEDCC for $50.00 to the Northeast Document Conservation Center, attn: Kim O'Leary, 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810. The cost includes UPS Ground shipping and handling within the continental U.S. All payments must be made in U.S. dollars. Include your name and mailing address, or use an order form, available at http://www.nedcc.org/.
Go to Page Five, Spring 2000 Kentucky Archivist