Cornell Library has received a $269,000 National Leadership Grant from the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to develop an internship program for Native American librarians in preservation management and practice.
Cornell Library's Department of Preservation and Collection Management will develop a two-year internship program to train 12 Native American librarians to establish and maintain programs to preserve cultural heritage materials at tribal colleges and universities. The interns will receive hands-on skill training in both traditional conservation and cutting-edge digital preservation techniques. In addition, the interns will receive instruction and guidance on how to establish and manage preservation programs and how to train other librarians, archivists, and technicians in the basics of library preservation.
By focusing on a "train-the-trainers" model, Cornell's internship program will enable more tribal institutions to assume direct responsibility for preserving their collections of indigenous materials, which include historic artifacts, manuscripts and photographs.
Cornell Library recently acquired an extensive collection of Native American manuscripts, rare books and other materials from the Huntington Free Library in the Bronx, which will offer the interns a wealth of opportunities to observe and participate in preservation surveys and treatment activities.
The internship program will provide Native American tribal colleges with the ability to greatly extend the life of their cultural heritage materials, to conduct fruitful studies of their collections and services, and to prepare viable proposals for external funding to support their collections. For more information about the IMLS grant or the Native American internship program, please contact Barbara Berger Eden at 255-5291 or email beb1@cornell.edu.
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