Congratulations goes out to Yale & the Wadsworth Atheneum

Congratulations goes out to Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and the Yale University Peabody Museum in New Haven. Both received Conservation Project Support grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) totaling almost $233,000.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford
Award Amount: $132,000; Matching Amount: $264,000
Grant Category: Provision of optimum environment
Contact: Linda Roth, Interim Chief Curator

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art will purchase and install a new mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system for its collections storage area. The new system will provide efficient and sustainable climate control systems for new, well-insulated storage spaces that will contain furniture, metalwork, ceramics, glass, and sculpture collections. Improved storage will maximize storage efficiency, improve security, and create work and study spaces for staff and scholars.

Yale University, New Haven
Award Amount: $100,901; Matching Amount: $101,322
Grant Category: Provision of optimum environment
Contact: Catherine Sease, Senior Conservator

Yale University Peabody Museum will conserve and improve storage of its 2,000-item Historical Scientific Instrument Collection, which includes objects directly associated with 18th- and 19th-century scientists and instrument manufacturers as well as several 20th-century Nobel Prize winners. Students and staff will unpack, document, and rehouse the collection in new museum-quality cabinets in a new storeroom equipped with environmental controls and a monitored security system. The collection will be organized according to scientific discipline and will be readily accessible to students, faculty, and researchers both physically and virtually through an online digital image database. This will promote the long-term preservation of the collection while improving access to individual instruments for study and teaching.

IMLS granted a total of 31 awards totaling $2,641,657 for Conservation Project Support Grants after having reviewed 136 applications requesting $10,719,667. See the full list of funded projects.

“These grants support the essential work of caring for museum collections,” said IMLS Director Susan Hildreth. “The grant roster is a delight to read and includes conservation activities that protect art and artifacts from nearly every corner of the globe; native and endangered animals and plants; and time periods that span from early cretaceous fossils to 21st century e-games!”

For more information about this funding opportunity including program guidelines and contacts, please visit the IMLS website.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.