The University Libraries Starts the Friends Preservation Assistance Program

By Marketing and Communications | 10-11-2021


In 2019, the Friends of the Texas A&M University Libraries generously provided funds to the University Libraries’ Preservation Unit to create a preservation outreach program – The Friends Preservation Assistance Program. The 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 Preservation Unit has successfully completed their first project for the outreach program. Working with the College of Architecture, Preservation conserved and digitized over 400 items in the Ernest Langford collection. Items in the collection included Langford’s 1913 Texas A&M diploma, his Texas architect’s license, photos, and newspaper clippings. Mr. Langford was a founding father of College Station, served as its mayor for 23 years, and headed the Texas A&M Division of Architecture for 27 years. To honor his contributions, the College of Architecture complex was named for him in 1976. The collection contains items representing these varied roles over his entire lifetime.

“Mr. Langford was a spectacularly influential academic and civic leader, and it was an honor to work with his collection to help ensure that it will remain available and accessible at the College of Architecture for years to come,” said Ian Muise, Preservation Librarian. “We appreciate the funding from the Friends of Texas A&M University Libraries that allowed us to do it. We also appreciate the College of Architecture entrusting us with this historically valuable collection.”

The Friends Preservation Assistance Program is a free service providing funding and expertise to meet preservation goals of groups across the campus. The program 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. Though this program, the Preservation unit also provides valuable experience for student workers working on these projects.

 

 

Media contact: Patrick Zinn, pzinn@library.tamu.edu


About Texas A&M University Libraries

Texas A&M University Libraries house a rich array of resources assembled to support the research, learning, and teaching at Texas A&M. Made up of five unique libraries, the Texas A&M University Libraries serve the entire diverse student and faculty population at Texas A&M through physical and online resources and services for instruction in the research process leading to discovery, creativity, and innovation. To learn more about the services and materials available visit http://library.tamu.edu.