Highlights from NEDCC's History

1973	The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) awards a two-year matching grant to the New England Interstate Library Compact to establish the New England Document Conservation Center.
1973	Founded by George Cunha, the New England Document Conservation Center is housed for a short time on his property in Topsfield, Massachusetts, then moves to the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum’s facility in North Andover, Massachusetts.
1976	NEDCC moves to Abbot Hall on the campus of Phillips Academy in Andover.
1978	Ann Russell appointed Executive Director
1978	NEDCC’s preservation microfilming service introduced
1980	New England Document Conservation Center incorporated as NORTHEAST Document Conservation Center
1980	Field Service Office created to provide training and expertise, supported by a 3-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
1983	Photograph duplication service introduced
1986	“Basic Preservation Packet” of 20 technical leaflets released
1988	NEDCC develops pilot disaster planning and recovery project for four NY regional library councils
1990	NEDCC relocated to the renovated mill building at 100 Brickstone Square in Andover, Massachusetts
1994	George Cunha dies and a memorial fund is established
1994	NEDCC hosts visitors from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, for training and consultation
1995	First School for Scanning: A Conference on Digitization, Microfilm, and Preservation presented at the JFK Library, Boston
1996	NEDCC Eastern European exchange program begins
1996	NEDCC website goes live
1998	NEDCC presents the “International Conference on Preservation of Paper and Photographs” at the National Archives of Cuba
2000	NEDCC presents a workshop on managing preservation in Cape Town, South Africa
2001	NEDCC offers “Preservation 101: The Free Online Introduction to Preservation”
2003	NEDCC receives an IMLS grant to develop dPlan: The Online Disaster Planning Tool
2004	NEDCC receives an IMLS grant to produce the “Preservation Education Curriculum” for graduate schools of library and information science
2004	dPlan: The Online Disaster Planning Tool launch announced
2004	First Eastern European Photograph Conservation institute (2004-2008)
2005	NEDCC’s Field Services offers Hurricane Katrina recovery support through workshops in Louisiana
2005	NEDCC’s new Digital Services announced
2005	First Persistence of Memory: Stewardship of Digital Assets conference presented in Tucson, AZ
2006	NEDCC collaborates with VT Museum and Gallery Alliance to present disaster preparedness workshops for ME, NH and VT, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
2006	NEDCC receives an IMLS grant for “Lessons Learned: A New Model for Statewide Disaster Planning” later to become COSTEP, Coordinated Statewide Emergency Preparedness
2008	Executive Director Ann Russell retires
2009	John Ott serves as Interim Executive Director
2009	Bill Veillette appointed Executive Director
2009	NEDCC offers new X-Ray scanning service
2010	ALA Midwinter Boston Tour of NEDCC
2010	First Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship (2010-present), funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2010	First Tectonics of Digital Curation conference, MIT Cambridge, MA
2011	NEDCC staff members travel to the Hemingway Museum at Finca Vigía, Cuba, to offer training and consultation on the conservation of the Museum’s paper, book, and photographic collections
2011	New Oversize Imaging Studio announced
2011	NEDCC hosts Darya Smirnova, paper conservator at the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, as the second Eastern European Photograph Conservation Intern, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2011	Deb Wender, Director of Book Conservation retires
2011	Mary Patrick Bogan appointed Director of Book Conservation
2012	NEDCC expands digital imaging service for color and black and white film
2012	NEDCC hosts Lidija Pajevik, project manager at the Macedonian Center for Photography in Skopje, Macedonia, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2013	NEDCC awarded IMLS National Leadership Grant to develop a new service for converting rare and historic audio formats to digital format using the IRENE/3D technology
2013	Walter Newman retires after a 30-year career in conservation
2013	Michael Lee returns to NEDCC as Director of Paper Conservation
2013	NEDCC celebrates its 40th Anniversary by releasing a refreshed and redesigned website
2013	NEDCC hosts Balázs Zoltán Tóth of the Hungarian Museum of Photography for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2014	Jessica Bitely appointed Director of Preservation Services
2014	NEDCC signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nishio Conservation Studio in Washington D.C., defining a business agreement to partner in a common pursuit to conserve Asian artwork in the U.S, and to train conservators in the specialty.
2014	NEDCC hosts Martina Bagatin, paper conservator at the Central Laboratory for Conservation and Restoration at the Croatian State Archives, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2015	NEDCC launches the new IRENE Audio Preservation Service
2015	Terrance D'Ambrosio joins the staff as Director of Imaging Services
2015	NEDCC hosts Anna Seweryn, a paper and photograph conservator at the National Archives, Krakow, Poland and at the National Digital Archives in Warsaw, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2017	Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, NEDCC expands its Audio Preservation Services to include the digitization of magnetic and digital audio tape.
2017	Ann Marie Willer joins the staff as Director of Preservation Services
2017	Bryce Roe joins the staff as Manager of Audio Preservation Services
2017	NEDCC hosts Anna Aseeva from the ROSPHOTO State Russian Museum and Exhibition Centre in Saint Petersburg, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2018	Bexx Caswell-Olson joins the staff as Director of Book Conservation
2018	NEDCC hosts Kristaps Latvis, a paper and photograph conservator at the Museum of History of Riga and Navigation in Latvia, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2019	Bryce Roe named Director of Audio Preservation Services
2019	Croatian State Archives Hosts NEDCC Professional Development Symposium on Photograph Conservation
2022	NEDCC hosts Barbara Líznerová, a photograph conservator at the Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2022	The updated dPlan℠ \| ArtsReady℠ launches—an online tool for disaster preparedness and response that is designed with arts and cultural organizations in mind. In 2017, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded funding to combine and upgrade NEDCC's dPlan with South Arts' ArtsReady, creating an online preparedness tool serving a wider audience of cultural heritage and arts organizations.
2022	The “Ready – Or Not” Cultural Heritage Disaster Preparedness project launches. Funded by the State of California, the three-year initiative assesses emergency preparedness at California organizations that care for cultural and historic resources.
2022	This Old House (S21 E5) travels to the Franklin Pierce Homestead in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. The historic site built in 1804 has 200-year-old block-printed wallpaper manufactured by hand in France. The host talks with senior paper conservators Luana Maekawa and Suzanne Martin Gramly working to restore the scenic wallpaper, which is an edition of “Les Vues d’Italie,” made by Joseph Dufour and Co., Paris in the 1810s and 20s and shipped to New Hampshire in 1824.
2023	NEDCC hosts Elvina Karosienė, a paper restorer at the Šiauliai “Aušros” Museum in Lithuania, for the Eastern European Photograph Conservation Internship, funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding
2024	The National Endowment for the Humanities awards funding for Preservation Services and Audio Preservation. The first grant of $350,000 will enhance Preservation Services' training programs, resources, and assessments. The second grant of $350,000 will support Audio Preservation in developing software and workflows for reformatting audio recordings on DAT tapes. These grants advance our commitment to education, training, and research in cultural preservation. View NEH's press release here.
2024	The implementation phase of the HBCU Radio Preservation Project begins. This collaborative initiative between WYSO Archives and the NEDCC promotes preservation efforts at HBCU radio stations to safeguard audio collections and bolster resilience by connecting and supporting the institution’s radio and archives staff. Learn more.

Highlights from NEDCC’s History