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Highlights from NEDCC’s History

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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.