SD State Historical Society/Office of History
For more information: Jeff Mammenga, 773-6000

PIERRE -- Thanks to a Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center will receive $3,730 to bring in a professional conservator for a two-day conservation assessment.

Neil Cockerline, field services director at the Upper Midwest Conservation Association in Minneapolis, will visit the museum at the Cultural Heritage Center on Oct. 11-12. He will review the overall condition of the museum's collection, the physical storage and exhibit conditions, and collection practices and procedures.

"The assessment will help the museum establish goals for improving preservation practices to ensure that the collections will be preserved and made available to the public for years to come," said Jennifer Landmann, Curator of Collections for the State Historical Society.

This year, CAP provided 147 grant awards for a total of $819,290. "CAP has now helped nearly 2,000 small museums across the United States receive professional conservation and preservation assistance and move forward to improve the care of their collections and historic buildings" said Heritage Preservation's Larry Reger.

IMLS is a federal grant-making agency located in Washington, D.C. that fosters leadership, innovation and a lifetime of learning by supporting museums and libraries.

For more information contact Jennifer Landmann at the museum at (605) 773-6013 or Mamie Bittner at IMLS at (202) 606-8339.

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