TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF COLLECTIONS ACCESS

14 March 2005

Dear Colleagues,

The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is pleased to announce that we will soon undertake a renovation and expansion project. This long-needed work is supported by a most generous gift from Edwin and Mary Meader, with related programmatic needs funded by an NEH Challenge Grant, which has already been greeted with a major donation by one corporate sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous. We expect to break ground in 2006 and to complete the construction phase of our project in 2008.  The project includes the construction of a new wing of the museum dedicated to collections storage and display; there will also be a major reorganization and renovation of the historic Newberry Hall building that currently houses all the Kelsey’s activities. We anticipate that every aspect of our operations will be affected by this project. As you might expect, significant preparatory work begins long before construction and those preparations must be the priority of our collections staff.

In order to enable our staff to focus on the tasks at hand, we must decline, for the present, any new requests for loans from the collection or for active collections use by researchers. This temporary suspension is effective immediately, and lasts through one year after the completion of the new wing.  Requests for loans and research access that have already been approved will be honored; any received after this public announcement will be subject to the suspension.

We regret any inconvenience this might cause you, and we thank you in advance for your understanding and support at a critical, exciting time in the history of the Kelsey Museum. We look forward to working with you in more commodious facilities in the coming years. Please watch this Web site for updates.

Sincerely,

Sharon C. Herbert
Director
On behalf of the Kelsey Museum Executive Committee