Museum awarded grant from National Endowment for the Humanities
Posted: December 9, 2013
The Museum of Osteopathic Medicine(SM) and International Center for Osteopathic History was awarded a $5,998 grant from National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to host an emergency preparedness workshop. The training workshop will be held at the museum and will be open to libraries, archives, and historical societies/museums from the state of Missouri and surrounding states. The training program will prepare participants to develop a disaster plan, demonstrate salvage techniques, review systems created by FEMA, and provide guidance on creating an emergency/disaster response team. The training will conclude with a hands-on, mock salvage operation.
“A natural disaster, as we’ve experienced with the A.T. Still Memorial Library flood, or have seen caused by Hurricane Katrina in the south, can occur within minutes, and the results can wipe out a community’s collected artifacts and other historic materials forever. I am excited about the NEH grant that will fund the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine(SM) to share expertise by professionals who have been through the worst with our Missouri colleagues who are charged with protecting our heritage. In addition, the museum will be able to physically prepare for a variety of disaster scenarios using some of the NEH grant to purchase disaster supplies to protect our unique osteopathic collections,” said Museum Director Jason Haxton, MA.
Having a formal disaster plan is also an expectation of the accreditation process, which the museum is seeking through the American Alliance of Museums.
“The NEH is proud to fund the nation’s finest humanities projects,” said NEH Deputy Chairman Carole Watson.
NEH awards were given to institutions and independent scholars in 43 states and the District of Columbia.