March 29, 2018 Library Celebrates "Preservation Week: Pass It On"

The Library of Congress will celebrate Preservation Week (April 22-28) with a full day of programming on Monday, April 23 highlighting veterans collections. To highlight the preservation methods used to ensure ongoing access to its collections, the Library will host behind-the-scenes tours of its Preservation Directorate on Capitol Hill and a lecture focused on the Library’s work to collect, preserve, and honor the legacies of our veterans. A special display of collection items from the Library’s Veterans History Project (VHP) will be available for view immediately following the lecture, with Library conservators and archivists on hand to talk about the work they do to ensure these materials are made available today and kept safe for the future.

VHP has collected approximately 500,000 collection items to date — 50,000 of those are available online. The Preservation Directorate works to properly maintain these items and all of the Library’s collections for long-term accessibility.

All activities are free and open to the public. Schedule of activities:

Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Preservation Directorate
9:30 a.m.-11 a.m.
Main Information Desk, first floor, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave, S.E. Washington, D.C.
Guests are invited to participate in a walking tour of the Preservation Directorate. Reservations are required and can be made at this website.

Lecture: “Engaging Our Veterans to Preserve Their Histories”
Noon
Whittall Pavilion, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street, S.E. Washington, D.C.
This lecture will open with a discussion highlighting several collection items that illustrate the Veterans History Project’s mission to collect, preserve, and make accessible the firsthand accounts of American veterans so that future generations may better understand the realities of war. In the second half of the lecture, conservators will showcase examples of conservation treatments and related work to improve the condition of VHP’s unique collections for long-term preservation and access. Speakers will include:

• Karen Lloyd, director, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress
• Gwenanne Edwards, senior paper conservator, Conservation Division, Library of Congress
• Jennifer Evers, senior book conservator, Conservation Division, Library of Congress
• Rachel Telford, archivist, Veterans History Project, Library of Congress

Veterans History Project Collection Display
1 p.m.
Whittall Pavilion, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E. Washington, D.C. 
Library of Congress conservators and VHP archivists will showcase select collections. Participants will have an opportunity to engage closely with the items and interact with conservators and subject-matter experts.

Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Preservation Directorate
3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Main Information Desk, first floor, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave, S.E. Washington, D.C.
Guests are invited to participate in a walking tour of the Preservation Directorate. Reservations are required and can be made at this website.  

Preservation Week, a joint initiative of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), Library of Congress,  Institute of Museum and Library Services, American Institute for Conservation, Society of American Archivists, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, encourages libraries and other institutions to connect our communities through events, activities and resources that highlight what can be done, individually and together, to preserve personal and shared collections. For more information on how to get involved, visit loc.gov/preservation/outreach/tops/vhp/index.html.

The Library of Congress has one of the most extensive library and archival preservation programs in the world. The Library's preservation staff  evaluates, manages, and responds to the challenge of ensuring access to the Library’s collection of more than 167 million items in a diverse and expanding range of formats. The Library's Conservation Division has been a world leader in developing the profession of library conservation, and many innovative treatments have been developed in its laboratory over the years.

Congress created VHP in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible the firsthand remembrances of America’s war veterans from World War I through the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. For more information, visit loc.gov/vets/ or call the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848. Subscribe to the VHP RSS to receive periodic updates of VHP news. Follow VHP on Facebook @vetshistoryproject.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.  Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.