N-95 masks, nitrile gloves, gowns, Tyvek suits--these supplies are in high demand across the United States right now as hospital teams struggle to provide adequate protection for their staff responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The same equipment that is in short supply at hospitals is used by National Archives employees, preservation and conservation specialists, to … Continue reading National Archives Donates Protective Gear for COVID-19 Response
Only two parchment manuscripts of the Declaration of Independence dating back to the 18th century are known in the world. One is held by the National Archives and displayed to the public in the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, DC. The other was recently discovered in Chichester, England, by two Harvard University historians, who recently … Continue reading Discovering the “Sussex Declaration”
With the opening of the “Discovery and Recovery” exhibit, I had a chance last week to thank many of the National Archives staff who made it possible. And it truly took a village to make this happen! Staff from just about every corner of the Agency contributed—preservation and conservation, security, legal, communications, exhibits, digital engagement, … Continue reading Celebrating Passion and Accomplishment
Next week we will be opening an extraordinary exhibit, “Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi Jewish Heritage,” at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The exhibit, spanning more than 400 years, tells the story of the dramatic recovery on May 6, 2003, of 2,700 books and tens of thousands of documents from a flooded basement in … Continue reading Preserving History
A career-long fascination and appreciation of the work of those involved in conservation and preservation can be traced to my very first job in the MIT Humanities Library. There I learned about the special needs of vellum and leather bindings, the temperature and humidity requirements of paper, and the principle of never doing anything which … Continue reading Conservation Challenge: The Magna Carta
