Connecting to Collections Online Community Launched

Updated Live Chat Schedule Announced! Click here to learn more.

Heritage Preservation is moderating the Connecting to Collections (C2C) Online Community, an interactive resource that connects staff at small museums, archives, and libraries with each other and with solid information about collections care. The community is being produced in cooperation with the American Association for State and Local History and with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The features of the site include:

a Meeting Room which hosts free Webinars with leading conservation professionals;
a Featured Resource that highlights new or particularly helpful information resources–the feature changes approximately every two weeks;
a Discussion Forum where online community members can post questions and assist one another;
a Calendar with announcements of upcoming C2C Online Community events, online preservation training opportunities, and grant deadlines; and
an Archive of past C2C Online Community discussions and presentation sorted by topic.

IMLS created Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action: a multi-year, multi-faceted national initiative to raise public awareness and inspire action. The initiative is grounded in the results of the Heritage Preservation publication: A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections.

Learn more about the facets of the Connecting to Collections Initiative:

Guide to Online Resources - links to the most trusted collections care resources on the Web
The Bookshelf - a core set of books, DVDs, online resources, and an annotated bibliography that are essential for the care of collections
IMLS Grant Programs that fund collections care
Workshops on public outreach and fundraising held in 2010
A Webinar Series held in the fall of 2010
Four national Forums and a Global Seminar in Salzburg, Austria held from 2007-2009
The National Conservation Summit held in Washington, DC in 2007