Tusculum College receives grant from the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board

The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library at Tusculum College has received an $800 grant from the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board to purchase shelving to improve the storage for its historic collections.

The Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board received $27,500 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to assist Tennessee’s historic record centers through a grant program called State and National Archival Partnership. SNAP Grants are available up to $2,500.

The SNAP grants are open to any Tennessee organization with historical records that are available to the public. The SNAP grants provide training and supplies for the preservation, improving access and enhancing historic record programs.

Through this grant, the museum will be purchasing new shelves for its archival collections. According to Kathy Cuff, archivist at the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library, the new shelves will provide proper storage for the Rare Books Collection and the backlog of other collections.

“This will relieve the crowding seen in the Rare Books Collection, which contains one of the most complete libraries from a post-Revolutionary frontier college,” she said.

Cuff added that the shelving will also be used to improve access to backlogged collections. The backlog shelving will remove the possibility of crushing collections through stacking boxes on top of each other.

“Tusculum College looks forward to installing the shelves soon and redressing these issues.”

The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library collects, preserves and makes available the records of Tennessee’s first college. The museum is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information about Tusculum College’s historic collections, contact Cuff at kcuff@tusculum.edu or at 423-636-7348.

The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library and the Doak House Museum are operated by the Department of Museum Program and Studies of Tusculum College. In addition to the museums, the department is responsible for the College Archives and offers one of the few undergraduate Museum Studies degree programs in the country. The two museums are also part of the National Historic District on the Tusculum College campus. Follow the museums on Facebook and Twitter to learn the latest news and upcoming events or visit www.tusculum.edu/museums to learn more about the variety of programs offered at the museums.