Out of all the things special collections do, I believe the easiest one to raise funds for is preservation (compared to other areas, no fundraising is easy these days!). It is something that naturally resonates with the public and is popular with many funders – and even small sums of money can make a noticeable difference. However fundraising is so competitive and funders naturally expect excellent well-planned bids. So all help is welcome.
Regular readers will know I really rate the preservation leaflets produced by the British Library’s Preservation Advisory Service. Written by experts for fellow professionals, they offer excellent concise introductions to particular aspects of preservation and are freely available online or in print.
The latest in the series revises the 1999 leaflet on funding preservation projects: Making the most of funding opportunities
for preservation and conservation projects, by Nancy Bell (2013). It’s a useful introduction to this kind of fundraising and includes handy links – one or two new to me, which is nice.
The Special Collections Handbook 