3 May, 2024
Library Director Nanci Hill is pleased to announce that the Hopkinton Public Library has been awarded $6,000 through a Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners’ (MBLC) Preservation Assessment Grant.
The MBLC's Preservation Assessment Grant Program provides funding for libraries to preserve and make accessible irreplaceable local records that are important to a community's history.
Using the grant funding, the Hopkinton Public Library will engage with a qualified preservation assessor for a site visit and a formal Preservation Assessment report. The consultant will look at the library's Local History Collection and assess preservation needs.
The final report will look at current practices and policies, building conditions and environmental controls in order to detail hazards and risks to the collection, as well as identify short-term and long-term preservation priorities.
The written assessment will also be helpful as staff apply for additional grants in the future, such as funding for reformatting key materials, purchasing new storage furniture and equipment, improving environmental monitoring and control, or other needs.
“We have many records and items that are an important part of the community’s history, and we are grateful to receive this grant that will help us evaluate how we can properly protect and maintain these records for future generations," Director Hill said.
The Hopkinton Public Library was one of 10 libraries across the Commonwealth to be awarded funding for formal assessments of their historical collections.
MBLC Preservation Assessment Grants are supported by the Federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), which is administered on the federal level by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in the Commonwealth by the MBLC.
