[NHCOLL-L:962] IMLS and Save America's Treasures

[Roberta Faul-Zeitler]

March 22, 2001

Dear NHCOLL subscribers:

Generally speaking, I know that NHCOLL is not intended to be an advocacy
listserv. I would, however, like to add some background and context to my
recent comments on Save America's Treasures (SAT)-- and offer a few thoughts
on what is happening at the Institute of Museum & Library Services in terms
of its appropriations and reauthorization.

SAT was established as a millennium initiative through the White House and
was "sold" to Congress, first as a one-year initiative. Congress liked it so
well in FY 99, because of its structure and the latitude it gave to members
to put earmarks for hometown projects in it, that they agreed again in FY
2000 to fund it again. The program is administered by the National Park
Service, which is not a grant-making body. They relied on the Institute of
Museum & Library Services to help process the museum applications and send
some general recommendations forward to NPS. But this was not a
peer-reviewed granting process and IMLS did not have any final authority in
awarding grants. That came through NPS and indeed by Congress. As I
mentioned, in the FY 2000 round, there were 3-4 grants for
archeological/material culture type projects in natural history museums. (In
the first year, the Lewis & Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Natural
Sciences, Phila., got a well-deserved conservation grant). ASC encouraged
natural history museums and gardens in both rounds to apply for what we
thought of as a "windfall."

What does this have to do with IMLS ? A lot. The Office of Museum Services
(the museum side of IMLS) is a 25-year old agency that was established
specifically to help museums. It has been basically level-funded at around
$24 million (for museums) for a number of years by Congress.In the past year
or two, IMLS staff have added some good new initiatives for grant-funding,
including digitization of collections and new online technologies for
museums to support collections. There is some modest (but very important)
funding in the IMLS budget for collections conservation, including
assessment money and "treatment" money. The agency has a panel-review
system. (Congress sort of glazes over when thinking about general operating
support grants for museums. It's okay but does not have the bravura of a new
initiative.)

In President Bush's recent budget to Congress, IMLS was not in the
"blueprint." While we don't know the details of the Executive's request for
IMLS, it is disappointing that this agency (which celebrates its 25th
founding this summer) has fallen below the President's radar screen. Here is
an agency that cares about all kinds of museums -- botanical gardens,
natural museums, arboreta included -- and is an instrument through which we
could have a "save america's treasures" effort (although not using the
Clinton-era name) to provide major money for efforts to maintain and
conserve collections.

IMLS is up for reauthorization (it expires Sept. 20 2002) and that creates
the opportunity for those of us in the museum field to offer recommendations
to Congress about funding levels and future directions of the agency that
would be incorporated into reauthorization. It is my hope that the museum
service organizations (AAM, ASTC, ASC and others) will look upon this
opportunity to ensure some stable, ongoing funding for collections and their
preservation in the reauthorization process.

I would encourage you to share your thoughts with ASC -- and with AAM, AABGA
and other sister museum service organizations -- on your collections and
conservation needs so that we can incorporate this into our strategy.

Bobbie

Roberta Faul-Zeitler
Executive Director
Association of Systematics Collections
1725 K Street NW, Suite 601
Washington DC 20006
Tel. (202) 835-9050
FAX (202) 835-7334
Email: faulzeitler at ascoll.org
ASC is changing its name to the Natural Science Collections Alliance in
Spring 2001.