Assignment #2: Letter of Commitment - Brian Schenk Archives, Austin High School

February 4, 2009

Angie Reeve
Librarian

Stephen F. Austin High School
1715 West Cesar Chavez
Austin, Texas 78703

Dear Ms. Reeve,

We, Helen Kuncicky and Stephanie Gowler, would like to request your permission to conduct a preservation assessment survey of the Brian Schenk Archives. Per our conversation on February 2, 2009, this survey will focus on the Archive's collection of scrapbooks. The assessment will be performed over the course of the next three months in a series of visits to the collection. These visits will take place on Monday mornings between the hours of 9 am and 1 pm, with specific times to be arranged prior to each visit.

Activities performed during this assessment may include:

• Removing items from the storage room to assess them in other areas of the library.
• Interviewing the Archivist, other library staff, and students who handle the collection.
• Reviewing the archival database.

To maintain the archival integrity of the collection, all items will be returned to their original storage locations and all handling of items will comply with best accepted preservation practices. We would like to emphasize that this is an assessment survey only, and no preservation treatment will be performed during the assessment.

The deliverables of this project will include a written report of our findings with recommendations for actions to take in response to the survey questions. The report will be accompanied by an oral presentation of the findings. All work will be completed and reports will be delivered to you by May 5, 2009. We will make every effort to prioritize recommendations according to the preservation needs of the collection and the budget constraints of the Archive.

We look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,
Helen Kuncicky and Stephanie Gowler