Preserving the Shelf Life of IU Dental School’s History: Institute of Museum and Library Services Donates Resource Materials (March 3, 2008)

Like most contemporary libraries, the IU School of Dentistry’s is thriving in an electronic age, offering its patrons a rich variety of online services designed to aid in the quick and comprehensive researching of any topic.

But as one of the oldest dental libraries in the nation (established in 1881, when the school was just two years old), IUSD’s Library also treasures the numerous print materials and other artifacts that represent the long and distinguished history of both the school and the profession of dentistry. And with each passing year, the challenge of keeping the collection in shape grows more daunting. The Library’s holdings currently include more than 58,000 volumes.

Thanks to a donation from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the IUSD Library is receiving a set of resources that will help preserve the collection for future generations. Known as the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf, the conservation materials include a set of 20 books and DVDs that contain information on a variety of topics such as care of prints and drawings, archival care, photograph management, emergency response and salvage recommendations, and legal issues that arise with archival materials.

"The information contained therein will assist us in developing policies and procedures for storing and displaying items, and developing plans to rescue and restore items in case of an emergency like a burst water pipe," says assistant librarian Barbara Gushrowski, who submitted the application.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal funding of the nation’s 17,500 museums and 122,000 libraries. The IMLS and its cooperator, the American Association for State and Local History, will award a total of 2,000 free sets of the IMLS Bookshelf by the end of 2008. The IUSD Library is among the first to receive the materials.

"We are pleased to announce the first group of IMLS Bookshelf recipients," said IMLS director Anne-Imelda Radice. "These small libraries and museums are taking up the charge to care for America’s heritage. A recent national study tells a sobering story about the state of America’s library and museum collections. Without immediate action we stand to lose important collections that are at the heart of the American story."

The IMLS Bookshelf is a crucial component of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a conservation initiative launched by the IMLS in 2006 in response to a 2005 study by Heritage Preservation documenting the dire state of the nation’s collections. The multi-faceted, multi-year initiative shines a nationwide spotlight on the needs of America’s collections, especially those held by smaller institutions, which often lack the human and financial resources necessary to adequately care for their collections.

The IUSD Library has numerous items of historical importance that will benefit from Bookshelf. Among the collection is the complete set of dental class yearbooks from the Indiana Dental College (1915-1925), an 1878-1879 private practice ledger of an unknown Kentland, Ind., dentist, and thousands of photographs representing every generation of IUSD’s 129-year history.

The Library’s oldest book – A Treatise of the Teeth: Wherein the True Causes of the Several Disorders to Which They Are Liable, Are Considered, by A. Tolver – was published in its second edition in 1752.