USU art museum awarded federal grant
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Heritage Preservation have announced that Utah State University’s Museum of Anthropology has been awarded a 2004 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) grant. The Museum of Anthropology joins 2,100 museums nationwide that have participated in CAP since the program began in 1990.
CAP assists museums by providing funds for professional conservation and preservation specialists to identify the conservation needs of their collections and historic buildings. Heritage Preservation’s President, Lawrence L. Reger, praised the Museum of Anthropology for “making the vital work of caring for collections and sites a priority at their institution and helping ensure that they are available to present and future generations.”
CAP provides funds for a general conservation assessment of the museum’s collections and historic building. Professional conservators will spend two days surveying the site and three days writing comprehensive reports that will identify conservation priorities. The on-site consultation will enable the Museum of Anthropology to evaluate its current collections-care policies, procedures and environmental conditions. The assessment reports will help the museum make appropriate improvements for the immediate, midrange and long-term care of collections and Old Main, which houses the museum and is itself a landmark in Cache Valley.
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud of its role in helping museums, both large and small, establish and meet their conservation goals,” said IMLS Director Robert S. Martin. “Through its conservation grants, IMLS has helped transform conservation practices across the nation.”
The Museum of Anthropology is located in room 252 of Old Main on the Utah State University campus and specializes in ethnographic and archaeological collections from around the world. The museum currently features exhibits on topics ranging from the origins of writing to the cultures of the Great Basin. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and special museum-sponsored events are offered year-round. Admission is free.
CAP is a one-time award funded by IMLS and administered by Heritage Preservation. IMLS provides federal support for museums and libraries and comprises the Office of Museum Services (OMS) and Library Services (OLS). Congress established IMLS in 1996 through the Museum and Library Services Act that consolidates museum support formerly administered by the Institute of Museum Services and library programs formerly administered by the Department of Education.
Heritage Preservation, based in Washington, D.C., is a national organization representing conservation and preservation activities in the United States. For more information about CAP, contact Heritage Preservation at 1625 K Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20006 or (202) 634-1422.