[PADG:612] September Conference on Preserving the Declaration of Independence

["Doris Hamburg" <Doris.Hamburg@xxxxxxxx>]

Please note following conference in September (9/22/05), which should be of interest:

National Archives Sponsors Major Conference on 
Preserving the Charters of Freedom

The National Archives and Records Administration will host a major conference on the preservation of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights on Thursday, September 22nd.  The 19th annual NARA preservation conference "Parchment & Titanium:  Preserving the Charters of Freedom" focuses on the multiyear project to examine, conserve and re-encase the founding documents of the United States.  The conference will take place Thursday, September 22, 2005 in the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives Building in Washington DC.  Conference attendees will have a special viewing of the encased documents in new visitor-friendly display cases with fiber optic lighting that protect the parchments while permitting remarkable visibility.  The audience will include the interested public as well as historians and archivists, museum and library professionals, conservators, exhibit designers, and preservation specialists.  The conference is open to the public.  The registration fee is $75.

Speakers will discuss:  
"	The saga and journeys of the Charters of Freedom
"	The history of sealed encasements for preservation and display
"	The design, fabrication and testing of a state of the art sealed encasement
"	First hand observations on the physical condition of the Charters and evidence of past history revealed in examination and treatment
"	Making the Charters and the Rotunda fully accessible to the public and new display criteria for the Charters

The Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein will welcome guests.  Speakers will include National Archives conservators who examined and carried out conservation these founding documents, conservator Don Etherington, hand papermaker Timothy Barrett, exhibition staff who addressed issues of accessibility, lighting and aesthetics, and National Institute of Standards and Technology experts Charles Tilford and Richard Rhorer, among others.

Advance registration is recommended.  For further information and Registration information see:  www.archives.gov/preservation/conference-2005.html