Larsen Tractor Museum receives Conservation Bookshelf

Treasured objects and artifacts held by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Larsen Tractor Museum will be preserved for future generations with help from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, a core set of conservation books and online resources donated by the institute.

"With nearly 2,000 tractor test files containing test reports and advertising literature, the Conservation Bookshelf will be a tremendous asset to our museum," said Jeremy Steele, educational associate with the Larsen Tractor Museum.

"When IMLS launched this initiative to improve the dire state of our nation's collections, we understood that the materials gathered for the Bookshelf would serve as important tools for museums, libraries, and archives nationwide," said Anne-Imelda Radice, director of the institute. "We were both pleased and encouraged by the overwhelming interest of institutions prepared to answer the call to action, and we know that with their dedication, artifacts from our shared history will be preserved for future generations."

The Larsen Museum will receive this essential set of resources based on an application describing the needs and plans for the care of its collections. The Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries' special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It addresses such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues.

The Bookshelf is a crucial component of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a conservation initiative that the Institute launched in 2006. The institute began the initiative in response to a 2005 study it released in partnership with Heritage Preservation, A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections. The initiative shines a nationwide spotlight on the needs of America's collections, especially those held by smaller institutions, which often lack the human and financial resources necessary to adequately care for their collections.

For more information about the Larsen Tractor Museum, visit http://tractormuseum.unl.edu.