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Formally organized in 1991,
the Nebraska Capitol Collections is a valuable tool for
preservation architects at the State Capitol as they
undertake renovation and restoration projects. Equally
important, the Capitol Collections also provide information
about the building for Capitol staff in their daily
operation and maintenance of the systems in the building.
The Nebraska Capitol Collections consist of an Archival
Collection, a Permanent Collection and a Circulating
Collection. The Capitol Archive holds architectural
drawings, correspondence, photographs and records relating
to the construction of the present Capitol and the ongoing
preservation, restoration and maintenance of the building.
The Circulating and Permanent Collections hold furnishings,
light fixtures, hardware and other elements of the building
not currently in use or retired from active use. The staff
of the Nebraska Capitol Collections serves the Office of the
Capitol Commission by collecting, preserving, researching
and interpreting documents and objects related to the
Capitol and its environs.
The Capitol Commission, during their oversight of the
competition and construction of the new Capitol, maintained
thousands of pieces of correspondence and drawings,
beginning in 1920 with the competition documents and
concluding with the final report to the House and Senate in
1935. Since that time other items have been added to the
collections, including documents relating to subsequent
renovations. Today the Capitol Archival Collection includes
more than 8,000 architectural drawings and blueprints, 2,500
photographs and more than 250,000 pieces of correspondence
and related records. The Circulating and Permanent
Collections contains more than 10,000 three-dimensional
items.
Ongoing projects include the organization and preservation
of the blueprint collection and the creation of a database
to catalog the collection. Staff continues to research the
collections in support of current restoration projects.
Because of the recent organization of the Nebraska Capitol
Collections, long term goals include organizing the
correspondence, creating databases for the correspondence
and the photograph collection, and reorganizing the
three-dimensional objects in the collection in renovated
storage areas.
Additional information about the Nebraska Capitol Collection
can be obtained from the Office of the Capitol Commission,
Attn: Capitol Archivist, P.O. Box 94696, Lincoln, Ne
68509-4696. Or e-mail the Capitol
Archivist.
Mission
Statement
Office of the Capitol
Commission
Nebraska Capitol Collections OCC/NCC
Recognizing that the Office of the Capitol Commission is the
main institution charged with the restoration, preservation,
maintenance, and promotion of the Nebraska State Capitol
building, and that the Capitol Collections are indispensable
for such work, the OCC/NCC has adopted the following mission
statement to define its role, and guide its efforts, in the
overall program to preserve and maintain the Capitol.
The OCC/NCC exists to collect, preserve, research, and
interpret objects, documentation, and information
significantly related to the Capitol. The Capitol is defined
as the present building and its landscape, designed by
architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and built from 1922 to
1932. The site is bound by 14th, 16th, H, and K streets. The
Nebraska Capitol Collections consist of three separate
groups: the Archival Collections, the Permanent Collections
and the Circulating Collections. The Archival Collections
serve as an architectural archive, designed to collect,
maintain, and study documentary materials concerning the
Capitol, its construction, preservation, maintenance, and
history. The Circulating Collections also extend these
services to natural and synthetic objects removed from
service, which are elements of the Capitol's architecture.
When feasible, such objects are returned to functional use
within the Capitol or its environs. The Permanent
Collections exist to preserve objects permanently retired
from use. These objects are used for research and reference
purposes; documenting original finishes, construction
techniques and other aspects important to the accurate
restoration and preservation of pieces in the Circulating
Collections and of the Capitol itself. The mission of the
OCC/NCC is further defined as follows:
Collecting
The collections are the foundation of the OCC/NCC program.
The program's first responsibility, therefore, is to create
and maintain systematic collections of objects,
documentation, and information regarding the Capitol, its
development, and history. The OCC/NCC focuses mainly on
collecting pertinent documentation from the state
institutions that are, and have been, responsible for the
care of the Capitol. The OCC/NCC also focuses on collecting
original components of the building which must be removed
and might otherwise be lost.
The OCC/NCC will also collect objects, documentation, and
information from sources outside of state government. In
such cases, planning and research as required to secure and
authenticate the origin and history of the material in
question will occur. The OCC/NCC shall use all legal means
of collecting, and shall give due consideration to all
ethical matters that may arise during these pursuits.
Preservation
The second responsibility of the OCC/NCC program is to
preserve the materials within its collections. Preservation
of artifacts shall include appropriate storage,
conservation, and cataloguing as accepted by the museum
profession. Preservation of documents and related materials
will include proper storage, conservation, processing, and,
when applicable, reproduction as accepted by the archival
profession.
Research
To a great extent, the OCC/NCC mission depends upon adequate
research, which is the third responsibility of the program.
The collections exist, and are preserved, in order to
support the restoration, preservation, maintenance, and
promotion of the Capitol. The OCC/NCC will, therefore,
usually limit its research activities to one or more of
these areas. Although this research will be based primarily
on OCC/NCC holdings, it may also draw upon outside
collections and resources as situations warrant.
Interpretation
The fourth responsibility of the program is the
interpretation and promotion of the Capitol. The OCC/NCC may
choose to interpret any aspect of the Capitol, its
construction, and history. This may take the form of tours,
presentations, publications, exhibits, and outreach
programs.
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