Preservation
Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection Storage Enclosures
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Research Collection housed at the Cushing Memorial Library & Archives is one of the largest of its kind and continues to increase in size and prominence. An important segment of that collection – pulps and comic books – need additional care and preventive re-housing. The Texas A&M University Libraries’ Preservation Department requested support to purchase a large quantity of “ready-made” enclosures to store these delicate items. This allows the department to maintain its preservation efforts, avoid backlog, and provide appropriate support for these significant Sci-Fi pieces. The Friends supported this request in 2024 with funding raised at the Friends 50th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting held in 2022, facilitating the Preservation Department’s ongoing efforts to preserve the University’s remarkable collections.
Audio, Video, and Film Archives Inventory
The Texas A&M University Archives identified roughly 7,000 audio, video, and film objects within its holdings, with many degrading or in obsolete formats. Most are currently unusable assets, locked into a form in which they are neither preservable nor easily accessible, with little to no description, rendering them undiscoverable. A large percentage of these items are highly valued for their historical value and for research, yet at the present time, the Archives does not have the resources to preserve them. The Friends provided funding in 2023 to enable the Special Collections and Archives Division to engage student interns over the course of three semesters to conduct a large-scale inventory and preliminary conservation assessment of the audio, video, and film within the University Archives. The inventory project will position the Archives to seek digitization funds, resulting in successful long-term preservation of its media holdings and improve access to these items to both researchers and the community.
Friends Preservation Assistance Fund
In 2019, the Friends provided funds to the University Libraries’ Preservation Unit to create the Friends Preservation Assistance Fund. This program allows the Libraries’ Preservation Unit to share their expertise and resources by helping preserve valuable collections and items that are housed across the Texas A&M campus. The Friends Preservation Assistance Program provides funding and expertise to meet preservation goals of groups across the campus and only covers collections or items that are the property of Texas A&M University. Services include training in collections care, creating preservation-quality containers to house and protect items, conservation of items, and digitization. The first project supported by the fund was the rehousing, digitization, and exhibition of the Ernest Langford Collection in the School of Architecture. This collection included items such as Langford’s 1913 AMC graduation program, diploma, and 1938 Texas Architectural License.
