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Welcome to the Preservation Working Group
The Preservation Working Group (PWG) at the University of Illinois exists primarily to assist with the long-term access to and preservation of the University’s cultural assets, which include all objects and documents of enduring value.
These may include: works of art, books, textiles, archaeological and natural history collections, audio/visual materials, along with the many other important records of the intellectual and creative output of this institution. We consult with and advise campus and community members with their preservation needs, free of charge. PWG members have a wide array of expertise, including preservation and conservation of artworks, paper, inorganic and organic materials, archaeological artifacts, musical instruments, and other preservation issues such as pest management, storage conditions, and exhibit design and installation. Participating members come from the University Library, Spurlock Museum, WILL AM/FM and TV, Krannert Art Museum, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University Accounting and Financial Reporting, the Illinois Transportation Archaeological Research Program, and the Illinois Natural History Survey.
PWG: A Timeline
The Preservation Working Group was created in 2003 as a subcommittee of the Chancellor’s Cultural Engagement Council. Members met on a monthly basis with no University funding until early 2008. In January 2006, the PWG contacted campus units through an on-line preservation needs survey. We are currently working with these campus units to survey their preservation needs. In September 2006, the PWG received a $249,983 three-year award from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to develop an on-line self-assessment program to help people preserve their audio-visual materials. In January 2008, the PWG received twenty climate dataloggers from the Image Permanence Institute for the WebERA project. The PWG is also a partner in the State of Illinois’ IMLS grant proposal for the “Connecting to Collections” planning grant. Other Illinois partners include the Illinois State Museum, the Illinois Association of Museums, the Campbell Center, and the Illinois State Library, among others.
The PWG hosts the annual “Heirlooms, Artifacts, & Family Treasures: A Preservation Emporium” at the Spurlock Museum, which began in 2007. In conjunction to this, the PWG presented an exhibit on art and object preservation at the Urbana Free Library in October 2008. The PWG also assists with the annual “Home Movie Day,” which began in Champaign-Urbana in 2006. The PWG has hosted several other workshops targeting campus preservation needs and has participated on several talk radio programs on WILL.