Grant Award Helps History Center Preserve Its Growing Collection

Lake Forest, IL The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff is one of 98 institutions in the United States selected to participate in the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program.

CAP helps museums improve the care of their collections by providing support for a general conservation assessment of the museum’s collections and buildings. The museum will work with a team of preservation professionals to identify preventive conservation priorities. The final assessment report will help the museum prioritize its collections care efforts in the coming years.

“The CAP assessment will also allow us to create an effective plan to make our ‘hidden collection’ accessible, explains Carol Summerfield, History Center Executive Director. “We have thousands of holdings that aren’t digitized or even catalogued in detail. Access to these collections will be a wealth of riches to researchers, as what we hold may be the only extant copies. We will also be able to make use of these items in our public-facing programs, events, and exhibits, which will help us generate extended public awareness of the collections and support our virtual learning campaigns.

Summerfield adds, “In the two years since we opened our doors for the new museum, we have served more than 3,500 visitors and provided research assistance for an additional 2,500 requests through visits and phone calls. Our digital archive is accessed directly by thousands more each year. The building and collection assessors’ recommendations will equip us with the resources we need to evaluate and improve our current standards and practices and provide us with the guidance we need to reach our goals to upgrade our buildings, our climate control, our storage, and our overall collection care."

The CAP program is administered by the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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About the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff

The History Center is located at 509 East Deerpath and specializes in collecting materials that reveal the character of life in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff from the period of early peoples to the present day. Its wide-ranging collection includes photographs, records and archives, maps, plats and blueprints, periodicals (including original bound volumes of the Lake Forester newspaper), a non-circulating library of books and research files, and three-dimensional objects. It is open Tuesday-Thursday from 9am-4pm and Saturday 1-4pm. Learn more at lflbhistory.org.

About FAIC

The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation saves cultural heritage for future generations, protecting it from decay and destruction. Learn more about FAIC at www.culturalheritage.org/foundation.

About IMLS

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work together to transform the lives of individuals and communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.