All of these items, and a great many more, are contained in the AMNH Library’s Memorabilia Collection. This collection reflects the scientific and educational missions of the Museum in the broad categories of: tools and equipment used in conducting and recording scientific work; expedition paraphernalia; materials used in designing and constructing exhibits; architectural details from halls or buildings which no longer exist; educational materials; artworks; and items related to the everyday function of the institution. I often describe the Memorabilia Storage area as the “attic” of the Museum, but it actually serves a more important function, as it holds a physical manifestation of its institutional memory.
In keeping with this function, the Memorabilia Storage area is about to receive a major overhaul in terms of its organization and storage. We are in the midst of an item-by-item survey and barcoding effort for the collection, using Airtable software, and are now finalizing the design for the new layout for the area. The repurposed standard Library shelving and cantilevered folio shelving which was installed in the new Library stack building in the early 1990s will be replaced by museum-quality compact shelving, stationary open shelving, cabinets, and flat storage. The purchase of new storage furniture, as well as the construction of enclosures for some of the more fragile materials, will be made possible by a generous grant from the Levy Foundation as part of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archive Initiative. The refitting of the space will be a major improvement, increasing our storage capacity, consolidating collections, and enabling us to house our collection in a much safer and more accessible manner.
Designing the new configuration of the space has been slightly challenging, due to the varied nature of the objects it contains, not to mention the huge variety of sizes and shapes, which can range from a three-inch commemorative paperweight to a 10 ½ foot dogsled. Our aim is to keep the space as flexible and efficient as possible, while still accommodating the largest free-standing items. To that end, I constructed a scale model of the room and the proposed furniture, as well as the most problematically large objects (see illustration above), which we are using to make a realistic assessment of our best options. The “object” models are made from corrugated board scraps and/or Ethafoam, and are sized according to the largest dimensions of each item. This has made it much easier to visualize how the room must be arranged.
Before we can move anything into the new storage furniture, of course, we will have to empty the space so that the old shelving can be removed. Concrete will be poured for the new compact shelving units, and the new storage systems installed. There will be several components to this move, including completion of the inventory, boxing of fragile materials, purchase or rental of carts for transportation and some temporary storage, and decision-making about the physical arrangement of the collections on their return to the room. The inventory has necessitated looking into every box we already had on the shelves, which has revealed some less than ideal packing, as well as a few instances of inadequate internal support. We have now corrected much of this, and will continue until everything is properly protected. Once the inventory is a complete an archivist will create detailed finding aids of the collections that will be available online to increase research access to these unique materials.
Where appropriate, we are using commercially-available archival boxes for the necessary enclosures, but as so many of the items are odd sizes, a number of custom boxes are needed. Most of these will be constructed of double-wall archival corrugated board, reinforced by bookcloth. The most common design resembles a shoebox; those boxes will house items which can be safely removed from the top by lifting them out. Other boxes are being constructed so that the front wall will hinge down (a “drop-front”), allowing the contents to be slid forward. Internal fittings of corrugated board or Ethafoam keep the objects from shifting when the boxes are handled.
While we are far from finished with this project, the collection has already benefitted from our attention, and we look forward to a future of safe, organized storage and housing for this unique group of materials.
This is the twenty-second post in a series about how the Library's staff is working remotely and enriching its digital collections to enhance access to researchers and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. This entry was written by Barbara Rhodes, Conservation Manager.