Shelburne Museum has been awarded a $600,000 Save America's Treasures grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The grant will be used to install a fiber optic communications system connecting the museum's exhibit buildings on the 45-acre grounds. The state-of-the-art system will improve security, enhance climate control and support educational programs, including providing Internet access to the museum’s 39 exhibition buildings.
“Shelburne Museum is honored to have been selected to receive a Save America’s Treasures grant,“ said Shelburne Museum Director Stephan Jost. “While not the most glamorous, communications infrastructure is key to positioning the museum for the future. This award will make a significant difference in terms of conservation, security and education at the museum. “
Shelburne Museum was one of 41 grant recipients nationally from a pool of 402 grant applications. The awards totaled $9.5 million.
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud to support Save America’s Treasures,” said IMLS Director Anne-Imelda Radice. “These awards are part of IMLS’s commitment to conservation that includes ongoing grant programs and Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a multiyear initiative to help improve the state of our nation’s collections.”
In its 10-year history, Save America’s Treasures has made more than 500 competitive grants to address the preservation needs of the structures, places, documents, artistic works, and artifacts that are deemed most significant to the nation.
“Save America's Treasures invests in our nation's irreplaceable legacy of buildings, documents, collections and artistic works,” said First Lady Michelle Obama, Honorary Chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. “These awards empower communities all over the country to rescue and restore this priceless heritage, and ensure that future generations continue to learn from the voices, ideas, events and people represented by these projects.”
Additional information on the Save America’s Treasures program can be found on the PCAH web site at www.pcah.gov, the National Park Service web site at http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/treasures/.
About Shelburne Museum: Located in Vermont's Lake Champlain Valley, Shelburne Museum is one of the nation's finest, most diverse and unconventional museums of art, design and Americana. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in a remarkable setting of 39 exhibition buildings, 25 of which are historic and were relocated to the museum grounds. For more information please visit www.shelburnemuseum.org.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services: The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
Source: SHELBURNE MUSEUM, Vt. (Dec. 10, 2009)
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Shelburne Museum awarded a $600,000 Save America's Treasures grant
Submitted by tim
on