C to C Planning Grant

The two-year Connecting to Collections Project started in April 2010. The project was guided by an 8-member Task Force. The first stage of the project offered a series of 5 half-day preservation workshops presented by staff from Lyrasis in fall 2010 in Havre, Kalispell, Butte, Miles City and Bozeman. The second stage was an online survey to collect data from Montana’s cultural organizations about the collections in their care and their most pressing preservation needs. Data was received from 138 organizations and a report of the compiled data provided a list of recommendations to be taken to address preservation issues in Montana.

The final stage of the project included a final preservation workshop in Helena and site surveys at two cultural organizations (Conrad Mansion in Kalispell and Thompson-Hickman Library-Archives-Museum in Virginia City). A brochure — “Montana Connecting to Collections: A Statewide Preservation Initiative” –- was created and distributed to cultural organizations and supporters to increase the awareness of preservation needs across the state as identified by the Connecting to Collections Project.

Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Montana Connecting to Collections Project was funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.