CCAHA

Save Pennsylvania's Past is a statewide effort to preserve the millions of objects and historic artifacts that shape the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's history and define our nation.

These collections, held in museums, libraries, and historic sites across the state, are vast in scope, richness, and diversity. They demonstrate the breadth of the state’s history, preserve the stories of individuals and events, and provide a powerful asset to help us understand and connect to our past.

Unfortunately, many of these fragile collections are at risk, while the tools and resources available to arts and cultural institutions, large and small, are shrinking. Save Pennsylvania’s Past celebrates Pennsylvania’s world-class collections and encourages us all to become a part of the movement to save our cultural heritage.

Preservation Plan 2010-2015

Published in August 2009, Imagining Our Future: Preserving Pennsylvania’s Collections provided an in-depth analysis of the conditions and needs of Pennsylvania’s artistic and historic collections. The report found that more than 25% of Pennsylvania’s collections are in unknown condition, while inadequate storage, lack of emergency planning, and dwindling financial resources have left nearly half of those that are in known condition in urgent need of care.

Imagining Our Future laid out a detailed five-year preservation plan to improve collections care throughout the state. Save Pennsylvania’s Past sets this plan into motion with:

• Education and training of collections care staff;
• Identification and coordination of necessary resources made available in an online clearinghouse; and
• Development of a marketing tool kit to assist institutions in promoting awareness of collection care needs.

Access the entire plan on our Special Projects pages.

Education & Training

As part of Save Pennsylvania’s Past, CCAHA is presenting six training programs in eight regions, as well as two statewide conferences on disaster planning and environmental management, to prepare staff to address the challenges threatening Pennsylvania’s collections. Find out more on our Education pages.

Pennsylvania Preservation Resource Clearinghouse

This website section will include information on assistance for preservation planning, disaster planning, and fundraising; resources for disaster planning, storage equipment, storage facilities, collections care, and educational programs in preservation; listings of collections care professionals and public and private funding sources; and links to other respected websites and resources.

Please check back soon for more information. In the meantime, many resources are currently available on CCAHA's website:

• Preservation Resources are short fact sheets that provide information on a range of preservation topics
• Technical Bulletins address disaster recovery needs integral to operating any collection-holding institution
• The Mid-Atlantic Resource Guide for Disaster Preparedness assists institutions in the preparation of an Emergency Telephone List and in the selection of emergency supplies and equipment
• The Regional Alliance for Preservation's searchable bibliography includes access to full-text reports and documents
• Resources related to the preservation of audiovisual collections and of photographic collections are also available

Marketing Tool Kit

Please check back soon for more information.

Project Leadership

As Save Pennsylvania’s Past project leader, CCAHA has partnered with a creative coalition of arts, cultural, educational, government, and historic organizations from all across the state: the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), PA Museums, and LYRASIS.

The initiative is supported by an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections Statewide Implementation Grant, by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and by the Arthur Ross Foundation, Inc.