Funding for Environmental Improvements

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is accepting grant applications for their Conservation Project Support program. The application deadline is October 1, 2008. IMLS awards matching grants of up to $150,000 to help museums identify their conservation needs and priorities, and to help them ensure the safekeeping of their collections through the implementation of sound conservation practices. There are six categories of support including Environmental Survey and Environmental Improvements. Many successful applicants have included IPI products and services in their applications. Options include:

• The purchase of Preservation Environment Monitors® (PEM2) as part of a do-it-yourself monitoring project ($349 each or $299 each in groups of ten or more). The free www.PEMdata.com website makes basic analysis easy. No additional software is required.
• Contracting with IPI for our Environmental Analysis Service designed to help institutions document existing storage conditions and identify changes that will improve preservation quality and extend the life of collections. $1,000 initial setup fee plus $1,000 per monitoring point (two minimum) includes the loan of monitors, three quarterly reports, and a detailed final strategic assessment with recommendations for improvement.
• A custom preservation environment research and analysis project designed to meet your needs. You may be interested in consultation or training, mechanical system study, environmental analysis, software and hardware, or your own MyClimateData website.

Learn more about the program by visiting the Grant Applicants section of the IMLS website.

A similar opportunity is available in the spring when the National Endowment for the Humanities offers Preservation Assistant grants. This program awards grants of up to $6,000 to small and medium-sized institutions to improve their ability to preserve and care for their collections. Guidelines for the last cycle are available on the NEH website. New guidelines will be posted later in the year and the deadline is expected to be May 2009. We will have more information about this grant in upcoming issues.