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NEDCC Appoints New Executive Director
Andover, MA — The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director after a nine-month search. William P. Veillette, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Historical Society since 2004, will head the nonprofit conservation center in Andover, Massachusetts.
Michele Cloonan, Dean of Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science and Chair of NEDCC’s Board of Directors, made the announcement. “The NEDCC Board was impressed by Mr. Veillette’s leadership skills, enthusiasm, creativity, and business acumen. It is rare to find this combination of talents.” In acknowledging Bill Veillette’s appointment, John H. Ott, Interim Executive Director and former NEDCC Board member, said, “Bill brings a unique set of business, non-profit, preservation, and management experience that will ensure a smooth transition of leadership and NEDCC’s ability to grow and evolve in this challenging economy. He is both a friend and colleague who will enhance the Center’s well-established record of professional service to its clients and to the many institutions that rely on its conservation and preservation expertise. I look forward to helping NEDCC through this exciting transition process.” The search committee was headed by NEDCC board member Bernard Reilly, President of the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago. Mr. Reilly commented, “We are confident that Bill Veillette will provide able leadership for the Northeast Document Conservation Center. As Bill’s achievements at the New Hampshire Historical Society attest, he has a keen sense of the preservation landscape, the energy, and the strategic vision that
will be essential to the growth and new vitality for a distinguished institution.”
After earning an MBA at Harvard Business School, Veillette worked in the business world for more than ten years before moving to New Hampshire in 1998, where he has since immersed himself in the preservation
of New Hampshire’s historic buildings, collections, archives, and the promotion of its history. “The New Hampshire Historical Society is infinitely stronger today
than it was when Bill took the helm almost five years ago,” said John Robinson, President of the Society. “His successful tenure will long be remembered as one of solid leadership, practical vision, fiscal responsibility, and significant accomplishment.” A resident of Amherst, NH, Veillette will continue his involvement in the New Hampshire Historical Society as a lifetime member.
Under Veillette’s leadership, the NH Historical Society adopted a new business plan focused on improving stewardship of its vast collection of artifacts and archives and expanding access to its collections and research through digitization and the Internet. He also increased support services to the state’s 206 local historical societies. “I have been honored to lead one of New Hampshire’s oldest and most cherished institutions,” said Veillette. “The New Hampshire Historical Society is quite simply a public treasure. It has been a privilege to work with the Society’s trustees, staff, and volunteers, and to get to know the hundreds of people who love New Hampshire history and support the Society’s work to save, preserve, and share it.”
Veillette has been an active and influential advocate for local, state, and regional historical organizations. He co-founded the Heritage Commission of Amherst, NH, and served as treasurer and chairman of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. He is a trustee of Historic New England; a
board member of New Hampshire’s Land and Community Heritage Investment Program authority; and treasurer of the Historical Society of Amherst. Veillette has co-authored two publications, An Early History of New Concord, N.Y. (1990) and Amherst Historical Moments (2004).
Veillette will begin his position at the Center on September 1, 2009. “I am very excited by this unique opportunity,” he says. “The Northeast Document Conservation Center is a world-class operation, and its mission of conserving and preserving some of the nation’s most precious archives, rare books, and works of art on paper is extremely important. I am honored and look forward to getting to work.”
The Northeast Document Conservation Center is a nonprofit, regional conservation center specializing in the preservation of paper-based materials for libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other cultural institutions, as well as private collectors. NEDCC provides expert conservation treatment laboratory services; high-quality imaging services; and preservation services including assessments, consultations, educational programs, and disaster assistance.
NEDCC recently performed conservation treatment for documents from the Massachusetts Archives’ Treasure Gallery in preparation for exhibition at the state’s Commonwealth Museum. Other objects treated at NEDCC include documents written by George Washington, correspondence by Ernest Hemingway, Abraham Lincoln’s family bible, Babe Ruth’s personal scrapbooks, and journals carried on the Lewis and Clark expedition. For more information, visit www.nedcc.org.