Philadelphia Stewardship Program

Addressing Philly's collection care needs for 20 years

We've been providing collections care training and subsidized assessments to institutions in the Philadelphia area for over 20 years. The Philadelphia Stewardship Program is a comprehensive approach to preservation planning. We work with institutions over time to assess their preservation needs and develop long-range plans to address them. The program is funded by the William Penn Foundation.

The Stewardship Program is comprised of seven tracks:

Track 1: Preservation Needs Assessment

Track I of the program provides institutions with a free preservation needs assessment. A needs assessment is a general evaluation of an institution's preservation needs, and is the first step in developing a preservation plan for collections.

Track 2: Preservation Planning

Institutions in Track II work with CCAHA to develop a long-range (3-5 year) preservation plan, setting a course of action to meet preservation goals.

Track 3: Risk Assessment and Emergency Planning

Organizations in Track III work with CCAHA staff to prepare a risk assessment, identifying potential emergencies and outlining mitigation strategies. Then, CCAHA and the organization work together to develop immediate emergency response guidelines and lay the groundwork for a full emergency response plan.

Track 4: Collections Management Policies

Institutions participating in Track IV work with CCAHA to develop or revise their collections management policies. These can include policies for handling, storage, environmental monitoring, exhibition, housekeeping, security, and pest management.

Track 5: Digitization and Digital Preservation Policies

Track V allows institutions to work with CCAHA staff to develop a written digital preservation policy.

Track 6: Create a Project

Organizations whose needs don't align with the above offerings may develop their own preservation-related assessments or planning projects.

Track 7: Update or Revisit Previous Reports

Standard guidance suggests that preservation needs assessments and other similar documents tend to expire after around 10 years, but it seems like resources, situations, and needs are changing ever more quickly. If your institution has participated in the Philadelphia Stewardship Program at any point since its launch in 2002, Track VII will allow you to work with CCAHA to revisit, revise, or update previous reports.