One of the recommendations made in the report was the rehousing of the Ephemera Collection. We’re so happy to report that this has now been completed! Here’s the story of the Great Rehousing Project, minus pictures of the wonderful volunteers who made it a reality.
While the labor was donated, all supplies had to be either repurposed from other projects or covered by existing inventory. At 30 cubic ft., and growing, this rehousing project required 60 archival boxes, wiping out the Historical Society’s new and reused supply.
The Ephemera Collection has been stored in filing cabinets for years. The CAP report recommended rehousing the entire collection.The cabinets were located an elevator ride away from the reading room, literally adding steps to pulling the material for researchers.The collection includes small printed material, such as tickets, that could easily slip out of the acid-free folders as they were pulled from the cabinets.The first order of business was to round up as many legal-sized document boxes as possible. We’re only showing you the pristine ones in this shot. Many others were recycled from previous projects and while safe for the collection, they aren’t nearly as pretty!Next, a dedicated volunteer moved each folder carefully from the cabinet and placed it in an archival box, affixed with a temporary label.Interim shelf space was needed during the rehousing process; what had been on these shelves was moved temporarily to another work space, to make room for the now-boxed material.After a few days of work, these cabinets are now gloriously empty and ready to be donated, freeing up valuable collections storage space.The rehoused collection is now better protected and is stored on the same floor as the reading room, reducing the time needed to pull material for researchers. Bliss.
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As a private, nonprofit organization, the DC History Center relies on generous gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support our mission. In times of upheaval and uncertainty, we rely on history to guide us.
At the DC History Center, we tell the diverse stories of our nation’s capital to a broad community of learners. We seek to bring people together to satisfy their curiosity, learn each other’s stories, and develop respect for the larger community in which we live.
