Introducing Our New Program Series, Workshops at the Center
We're always looking for new ways to expand access to preservation training. You may already know that CCAHA partners with institutions to provide hands-on workshops, but what if you're an individual looking to build these skills yourself? We’re excited to announce the launch of Workshops at the Center, a series of hands-on training experiences right here at CCAHA to complement our online course and webinar offerings.
These half-day experiences will cover a wide range of preservation topics, from housing and handling, to disaster response, digitization, and so much more. They are intended for individuals who are involved in collections care activities, have responsibility for cultural collections, and/or just want to learn more about preservation. Librarians, archivists, curators, collections managers, caretakers of historic house museums, records managers, students, emerging professionals, neighbors stewarding community archives, and volunteers are all welcome! In-person workshops that we hosted were a mainstay of our program for many years which stopped during the pandemic, and we are looking to reinvigorate this program by activating our ground floor space. As a perk, we’ll also give you a quick tour of our lab space at the end of each workshop.
This summer, we’re launching this program with a new workshop each month. First up is Preparing Collections Materials for Digitization on June 23 with our Digital Archives Specialist, Kaitlyn Pettengill. She’ll cover a range of topics including handling fragile and/or oversize materials, some basic fastener removal techniques, flattening techniques, as well as when to call a conservator if an issue is too complicated. Next will be Book Cradles for Exhibitions and Reading Rooms on July 13, taught by our Senior Book Conservator, Eliza Gilligan. She’ll show you how to make a simple, inexpensive book cradle, considering factors like time and budget to compare and contrast with commercially available options; supplies are included with registration costs. Finally, we’re offering Succession Planning Strategies on August 18 taught by Tom Clareson, Senior Consultant for Digital & Preservation Services at Lyrasis, and Camilla Dawson, CCAHA Preservation Services Coordinator. This workshop introduces you to the resources we developed as part of our IMLS-funded Cultural Stewardship Succession Planning Initiative in collaboration with Lyrasis. We’ll use these resources to guide you through a tabletop simulation of various succession planning scenarios you might find yourself in to troubleshoot solutions.
After launching this summer, we hope to be able to offer Workshops at the Center quarterly, with additional new topics to be announced. Our goal is to provide even more access to our educational programming in a way that emphasizes in-person and hands-on experiences. We hope to see you at an upcoming Workshop at the Center!
If you have any questions, please contact Greg Stuart, Education Program Manager at gstuart@ccaha.org.