Breana McCracken
Grant Application
December 16, 2014
Project Title: Tolono Public Library Local History Room Assessment
Institution: Tolono Public Library
Project Director: Janet Cler
Grant Program: Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
Amount Requested: $3,620.00
Abstract
The Tolono Public Library Local History Room collection consists of documents, newspapers,
yearbooks, interviews, maps, and photographs relating to the history of Tolono and its
surrounding communities. These materials are currently stored improperly and can become
damaged if preservation action is not taken. This collection is utilized by several types of people
in the community including patrons, scholars, students, and genealogists that wish to learn more
about the local history of Champaign County and its cities or about their own family roots. The
Tolono Public Library requests $3,620.00 in order to hire a preservation consultant to assess the
collections, purchase proper archival storage items, an environmental monitoring device, and to
allow a staff member to attend an online webinar series on proper preservation techniques in
order to care for the collection.
Project Narrative
A. What activity (or activities) would the grant support?
If selected, the National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant will
support three activities. The first activity being an overall assessment of the collection housed
within the Tolono Public Library’s Local History Room by a professional preservation
consultant. This consultant would assess the physical condition and the current storage
conditions of the physical collection. The environmental conditions of the physical space in
which the collection is kept would also be assessed by the consultant. This consultation and
assessment of the collection would be used to create short term and long term plans for
preservation, storage, and environmental conditions for the collection. The assessment would be
conducted by Cher Schneider of the University of Illinois.
The second activity that the grant would fund is the purchase of storage and preservation
supplies, including acid-free archival boxes, archival file folders, shelving, and a data logger.
The third activity that the grant would support is the ability to educate a staff member in proper
preservation techniques through the Preservation 101 webinars offered by the Northeast
Document Conservation Center (NEDCC).
B.
What are the content and size of the humanities collection that are the focus of the
project?
The Local History Room at the Tolono Public Library consists of a small public reading room
and a closed compact storage room. The total square footage of both spaces is approximately 500
square feet. The contents consist of 86 yearbooks from Unity High School, Pesotum High
School, Sadorus High School, and the University of Illinois dated from 1932 to 2002, bound and
unbound local newspapers including the County Star, EIU Warbler, Savoy Star, Southside
Journal, and Unit 7 Schools Newspaper dated from 1957 to 2008, published works related to
local towns or Champaign county, textbooks used in local schools from the 1920’s to the 1950’s,
department store catalogs from 1894 to 1968, copies of Life magazine from 1958 to 2004,
various newspaper clippings about the Tolono Public Library from 1988 to 1993, local folktales
and stories from 1858 to 1965, minutes from Friends of the Tolono Public Library meetings from
1980 to the present, local school and family records, local cemetery and church histories,
newspaper records of births, deaths, and marriages, history of land transfers, railroads, Abraham
Lincoln’s visit, the impact of the civil war on local towns, several old photos of local families
from the 1800’s, an original graduation photo of five young women from Tolono High School in
1897, sketches of original Tolono landscapes from 1858 to 1910, the original library floor plan,
fifty rolled maps of Champaign county towns from 1863 to 1971, and approximately 20 oral
interviews on tape.
The city of Tolono, Illinois was founded in 1848 as a result of the Illinois Central Railroad’s
expansion towards the south. The town was initially inhabited by railroad employees, but later
grew to be occupied with farmers as well. When an east to west railroad was added in the later
nineteenth century, Tolono became a featured stop for railroad passengers. The highlight of
Tolono’s history occurred when the town became the final stop in Illinois for Abraham Lincoln
as he bid farewell to his home state. The future president gave a speech to the town residents
from the back of his coach. Tolono became the site of Unity High School in 1937. This school
combined the residents of Tolono, Philo, Sidney, Sadorus, and Pesotum into one school district,
whereas previously, each town had its own high school.
The Tolono Public Library was established in 1969. The next year, in 1970, George Smith and
Marion Moore began working on an archives section. In 1986, a referendum passed that
converted the township library into a library district. A Lincoln Trail Libraries System grant was
used to pay for this referendum as well a referendum adding Savoy and Pesotum residents into
the district. In 1996, Sadorus residents and contiguous landowners were added to the district as
were the remaining Village of Savoy residents in 1994. The library district currently serves
approximately 12,100 patrons. In 1997, a new 8,000 square foot building was built thanks to the
very generous donations left by two library patrons and a Live and Learn construction grant. The
Tolono Public Library was formerly a part of the Lincoln Trails Library System, but now
belongs to the Illinois Heartland Library System. The library currently contains 32,000 volumes,
5,000 DVDs and Blu-Rays, 300 video games, 2,000 audiobooks, and 2,100 CDs.
C.
How are these humanities collections used?
The collections within the Local History Room at the Tolono Public Library are used to promote
awareness of the history Champaign County, the towns within, mainly the towns within the
Tolono library district, and the Tolono Public Library. The collections are mainly used by those
who are interested in learning about the area’s history, a particular person affiliated with the area,
or those who are interested in their family history. These users include both local patrons and
historians from nearby universities and historians interested in Illinois history. The Tolono
Public Library also serves elementary school, high school, and college level students who must
complete projects related to local history, agricultural studies, civil war studies, and city planning
and development. Several historians have utilized the Local History Room collections for
research and have used photographs and information found in the collection in writing their
published works about local history. The Local History Room also contains genealogical
resources available to patrons or anyone interested in learning about their local family history
and these are utilized frequently.
D.
What is the nature and mission of your institution?
The mission of the Tolono Public Library is dedication to providing resources to expand and
improve the quality of life for the residents in its district. The library promises to continue to
develop and expand our collection to meet the recreational and educational needs of our patrons.
Through programs, events, reciprocal borrowing and inter-library loans, the library will facilitate
learning and support the joy of reading for our valued library patrons. The purpose of the Local
History Room is to identify, acquire, archive, and preserve materials which provide information
about Tolono history and the surrounding communities, past and present. The collection within
serves to support the research interests and information needs of Tolono Public Library District’s
residents, scholars, students, and genealogists with a desire to learn more about our community
and its history.
The 2013/2014 Tolono Public Library fiscal year operating budget was $393,957.81. This budget
allows for salaries, the purchase of books and other circulating materials, electronic resource
licenses, equipment, building maintenance, cataloging and processing supplies, and general
office supplies. The library employs four full-time staff members, five part-time staff members,
and has four regular volunteers. The library is open seven days a week, excluding holidays.
E.
Has your institution ever had a preservation or conservation assessment or
consultation?
No, the Tolono Public Library has never had a preservation or conservation assessment.
F.
What is the importance of this project to the institution?
The project is very important to the well-being of the collections and the ability to provide the
services promised by the library. The collections have never been assessed by a professional
consultant and the library staff members possess limited preservation skills. Presently, the
majority of the collections are kept in non-archival containers, such as steel filing cabinets.
Another large portion of the collections is stored on metal shelves and are stacked unevenly on
top of one another. Several of the volumes on the shelves are noticeably damaged. Additionally,
two years prior to this application, the library suffered from roof damages. One of the noticeable
leaks occurred in the Local History Room and created a puddle on one of the top shelves. Some
of the materials could contain mold spores because no proper preservation techniques were used
to fix the problem. The roof has since been replaced. The preservation assessment will assist in
creating a plan for short-term and long-term preservation goals.
G.
What are the names and qualifications of the consultant(s) and staff involved in the
project?
Cher Schneider, Consultant: Ms. Schneider is currently the Special Collections Conservator at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been employed as such since 2011. She
is in charge of conservation at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Sousa Archives and
Center for American Music, University Archives, Map and Geography Library, and Illinois
History and Lincoln Collection. She is also on call for mold outbreaks, water pipe bursts,
silverfish infestations and other disasters. Ms. Schneider is teaching to instill a proactive
preservation approach to librarians through environmental monitoring, integrated pest
management, routine cleaning and maintenance, and educating library staff on their role in
preservation. In the past, Ms. Schneider has served as a paper conservator at the Art Institute of
Chicago where she documented and conserved many works of art on paper. There, she was the
lead conservator of the special exhibits and conducted a research project at the same time. In
addition, Ms. Schneider acts as a private consultant and contract paper conservator who works on
documents, written and photo, and treatments.
Janet Cler is the director of the Tolono Public Library and has been since 1995. Ms. Cler
oversees the other staff members and all programs and events held at the library. She also heads
the Library Board and all decisions must first be approved by her including the library budget,
salaries, construction, and any changes in library policy. As director, Ms. Cler decides, in
consultation with the Librarian, what materials are kept and circulated within the library. \
H.
What is the plan of work for the project?
January 2016
The library will be notified of the award
February 2016
Staff member will begin to attend the Preservation 101 webinars
Ms. Schneider will conduct the onsite preservation assessment
March-April 2016
Ms. Schneider will provide her written assessment report, including recommendations for
storage and housing, environmental condition changes. The report will also include a short-term
plan of action. Ms. Cler will review and discuss the assessment with Ms. Schneider.
April 2016
Ms. Cler will order the storage supplies and environmental monitoring device based on Ms.
Schneider’s report.
May 2016
Ms. Cler will work on the short-term plans and monitor the environmental conditions. Plans for
long-term preservation strategies will begin to be made.
New storage equipment will be put together and materials will be transferred into the new
supplies.
June 2016
The Preservation 101 webinars will conclude.
July 2016
The project will be complete, with NEH report submitted.
NEH Preservation Assistance Grant Budget
Applicant Organization: Tolono Public Library
Consultant Fees
Name of Consultant
No. of days on project: 2
First Name: Cher
Daily rate: $750
Last Name: Schneider
Total: $1,500
Travel: For each trip, indicate the number of persons traveling, the total days they will be in
travel status, and the total subsistence and transportation costs for that trip. The lowest available
commercial fares for coach or equivalent accommodations must be used.
From/To:
Champaign, IL
To Tolono, IL
No. of
Persons:
1
Total travel
Days:
0
Subsistence
Costs:
0
Transportation Total:
Costs:
$20 for gas
$20
Supplies, materials, equipment, and workshop registration fees.
Item: 1 datalogger from TALAS priced at $40 each
Item: 1 shelving unit from The Library Store priced at $720, shipping
Item: 1 flat files shelf from Gaylord priced at $205 each
Item: 30 legal size archival document cases from Gaylord priced
at $9.95 each
Item: 3 full 1” tab A4 size file folders (100 pack) from Gaylord
at $44.50 each
Item: Preservation 101 webinar registration by NEDCC
$40.00
$763.08
$205.00
Total Project Cost
$3,610.08
Total Request
$3,620.00
$298.50
$133.50
$650.00