Developing Criteria to Assess the Condition of the Nation’s Heritage

The Heritage Health Index, a periodic national survey of the conditions of the collections held by United States museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies, will be developed by Heritage Preservation in the year ahead. At Heritage Preservation’s annual meeting in Dallas on May 31, Larry Reger announced that funding has been received from the Getty Grant Program and that the project will be a partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

No national survey is conducted regularly to produce credible statistics regarding the condition of the nation’s artistic, historical, and scientific collections. Just as new funding programs have been launched and progress made on numerous fronts, deterioration continues apace elsewhere. No instrument exists to measure either progress or problems.

Dennis Fiori, the new Chairman of Heritage Preservation, said, "We’ve got to gather the facts; we’ve got to make sure that our trustees, the world at large, the funding agencies in our states and nationally understand the need. The telling of history is a weaving of a tapestry that is made up of many, many pieces. And it’s got to begin with things like cataloging and getting a hold of our collections."

In the absence of sound data, those interested in saving our heritage have had to rely on anecdotal information. When flooding from a broken pipe ruins a collection of irreplaceable books and papers, there is great hue and cry, but no one knows how many other collections are in danger due to storage in sub-standard conditions. An occasional newspaper article may draw attention to conservation of a well-known painting, but there is no data on how many other works of art need treatment.

Mr. Fiori noted that many funding sources are in transition, setting new priorities. "This is a time for us to gather our facts and our figures and go to them to make sure they understand the need for programs to catalog and conserve America’s collections. These decision-makers really need to know what the state of the field is."

Prominent conservation professionals and national organizations in the field have endorsed this project and will participate in its development and implementation. With their input, and that of survey specialists, a survey will be developed that will yield an accurate measurement of the condition of our collections. The results will lead to:

• credible data for conservation professionals to use in making their case to administrators and funders;
• solid information for decision-making by trustees, donors, and government officials;
• broader public awareness of challenges and progress in conservation.

Mary Estelle Kennelly of IMLS said, "The Heritage Health Index is really going to offer an opportunity to gather data on a regular basis that can show trends, that we can use in talking to funders, …and that we can use in telling the story to the public of the need for preserving our collective heritage."

Heritage Preservation members will receive regular updates on the progress of the Heritage Health Index via the Heritage Hotline. Non-members may ask to be added to our special HHI mailing list at heritagepreservation@heritagepreservation.org. For additional information on HHI, contact project director Kristen Overbeck at koverbeck@heritagepreservation.org.

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