U.S. EMBASSY PRESENTS CONSERVATION EQUIPMENT TO KHMELNYTSKY STATE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES

On behalf of the United States Embassy, Public Affairs Counselor Janet Demiray officially donated specialized equipment and supplies worth more than $27,000 to the Oblast State Historical Archives in Khmelnytsky on January 21, 2005. The equipment will be used to assist the Archives in conserving thousands of historical documents damaged in the fire that swept through a storage facility in Khaminets-Podilsky in spring of 2003.

Purchase of the equipment was made possible by a grant from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, a program of the U.S. Department of State that supports preservation of cultural heritage in countries around the world. The Khmelnytsky Archives project was one of only 50 projects to receive funding in fiscal year 2004.

The equipment - a leafcasting machine, vacuum table and accessories manufactured by Museum Services Corporation in Minnesota - will be used by the Archives staff to stabilize and strengthen fragile historical documents damaged by fire and water, enabling them to be preserved for study and research now and for many years to come.

Mrs. Demiray noted that the Embassy was pleased to be able to assist in saving priceless documents reflecting the history of this multi-ethnic region of Ukraine. This is the second grant to Ukraine from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation; a grant of $17,760 was awarded in 2002 to help preserve and promote Crimean Tatar culture though collection and digitalization of ancient songs, historical manuscripts and handicrafts. This grant is the latest step in the longstanding relationship between the United States and Khmelnytsky Oblast.

Petro Yakovych Slobodaniuk, Director of the State Historical Archives of Khmelnytsky Oblast, accepted the gift on behalf of his organization. Also present was Yuriy Kulinich, head of the Union of Archivists of Ukraine, and over forty directors of oblast archives, heads of conservation departments of archives and museums from all parts of Ukraine.

In connection with the grant of the leafcasting machine, U.S. specialists Peter Mecklenburg, head of the Museum Services Corporation, and Frank Mowery, Head of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Memorial Library in Washington, DC, traveled to Khmelnytsky to install the equipment and train Archives staff and other local specialists in its use.

NOTE: The U.S. Embassy is currently accepting proposals for the new round of grants under the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. Interested parties can get more information on the program at: http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/educult_cultural_eng.html