Giving Opportunities to Preserve Our Past

Collection Preservation
Long-term care of the physical collections requires the equipment necessary to perform preservation and conservation activities in-house. ($50,000)

Conservation of the Peter Parker Paintings
One of the gems of the Historical Library is the collection of 83 mid-19th century oil paintings by Western-trained artist Lam Qua. These paintings of Chinese patients under the care of Yale-trained medical missionary Peter Parker need to be cleaned and repaired to ensure their existence for generations to come. ($2000-$6000 per painting)

Conservation Treatments for Rare Books, Manuscripts and Special Collection Materials
The Historical Library is world-renowned for its collections of over 130,000 books, bound manuscripts, journals and pamphlets along with over 5,000 prints and drawings and important collections of historical photographs and objects. A great number of these items need individualized treatment by conservators. ($50,000 to $150,000)

Create a Preservation Lab
Renovation of existing space will expand the area for preservation and conservation activities and provide a secure and protected area for viewing rare materials from our collection. ($250,000)

Fund for Electronic Historical Collections
Endowed funds for the digitization of the Historical collections will enable the library to preserve its unique collections in digital form to meet the current and future research needs of our community and scholars worldwide. ($100,000)

Housing the Photograph and Poster Collections
Photographs are sensitive to light, heat and moisture and have specific housing needs. Posters, because of their size and fragility, also require special considerations. Rehousing the photograph and poster collections will protect them while in storage and also while being handled, viewed or exhibited. ($25,000)

Locked Stacks Cleaning Project
A clean stack environment is mandatory for the preservation of rare materials. Cleaning and maintenance processes require delicacy in care and handling and must be perpetually maintained to guarantee the long-term preservation of the entire collection. ($100,000)