Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Auburn Historical Society will be preserved for future generations with help from the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books, DVDs, and online resources donated by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (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 (AASLH), will award a total of 2,000 free sets of the IMLS Bookshelf by the end of 2008.

As a WKU graduate student in Folk Studies, Betty Ann Lloyd completed a class in Museum and Preservation Techniques. The class requirements included volunteering with a local museum. Because of a grant writing class she attended with Eloise Hadden, she fulfilled this requirement with Auburn Historical Society's (AHS) museum by helping in the management of their collections. Last fall she discovered an opportunity to enhance AHS's library with some collection management and preservation literature, video and on line resources. IMLS offered a grant program targeting small museums and libraries to help them protect America's treasures. With Eloise Hadden's approval, Ms. Lloyd applied for this grant in the Auburn Historical Society's name. AHS received notification last week that the grant had been awarded.

Auburn Historical Society is among the first to receive this essential 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 art or history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It addresses such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues.