WILMINGTON — Time takes its toll on valuable archival items — photographs fade, news clippings yellow and ink disappears over time. The Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College is taking proactive steps in preserving its unique collection.
The Peace Resource Center is a museum and archive highlighting the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as nonviolent movements for peace and social justice during the middle and late 20th century.
Founded in 1975, it houses documents, visual images and a multitude of archival items that are literally in a battle with time and the environment to maintain their physical integrity so they can endure as resources for researchers and those interested in these distinct pieces of American and world history.
The PRC received a $4,000 re-grant from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board to implement best practices for preserving its archives. The fund will not only enable the Center to install ultraviolet filters on windows and upgrade lights and climate control, but it also is providing for Victoria Chadbourne to work with staff and students.
Chadbourne is a graduate student from Wright State University, who is completing its Archivist Certification Program, and has been working with the Center since last fall. She is assessing the Center’s collection, training students on methods for fixing preservation problems and inventorying the PRC collections.
“This is especially important because we want to preserve our collection according to best archival practices to ensure long-term accessibility for our students, researchers and the public,” said Dr. Tanya Maus, PRC director, noting that sophomore Ellyse Herr will be engaged in a Haas internship this summer as the lead student working with Chadbourne.
