Lyrasis’ Tom Clareson and Laura Sinhur recently attended the Primer Simposio sobre Preservación de Colecciones Documentales in Puerto Rico, held on May 2 and 3. The symposium was the culmination of a two-year partnership between the Center for Conservation and Restoration of Puerto Rico (CENCOR) and the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), focusing on long-term planning and support of disaster preparedness resources and expert collaboration on the island, enabled by a NEH grant.
Tom and Laura exhibited on behalf of Lyrasis, highlighting the benefits of membership, consulting’s role in disaster prevention and related discounts, and Tom’s enduring work in disaster preparedness. Laura, the Lyrasis Member Outreach Advocate for the Northeast, has worked with Tom and Katy Klettlinger in an adjunct consulting role for site assessments on disaster preparedness and digital preservation. Her advocacy includes creating Cultural Sensitivity Statements for online communities, and she has been published in Society of American Archivists.
Tom, Senior Consultant for Digital & Preservation Services at Lyrasis, has consulted and taught both nationally and internationally on preservation, disaster preparedness, digitization, digital preservation, special collections/archives, remote storage, funding, strategic planning, and advocacy for libraries, archives, and museums. At the symposium, Tom presented on his work with CCAHA staff on Succession Planning. Learn more about Tom’s work with CCAHA on Succession Planning.
Altogether, Laura and Tom presented to more than 150 symposium attendees and highlighted Tom’s work and network of influence in disaster preparedness. This led to conversations around access of services to the island. Lyrasis is viewed as being a prolific collaborator to existing services in Puerto Rico without competing with expert knowledge already on the island.
To learn more about the symposium, please visit the CENCOR website (content in Spanish).
As a reminder, Lyrasis has a 24-hour Disaster Assistance Hotline (614-439-1796), available to all cultural institutions in the U.S. and its territories. Learn more about Lyrasis’ Disaster Planning and Response work.