Corning Museum of Glass (Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library)

The Rakow Library of the Corning Museum of Glass will develop an innovative methodology for preserving, digitizing, and making accessible a collection of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 large-scale, paper-based designs of historical significance. “The Whitefriars Collection,” donated to the Rakow Library in 2008 by the Museum of London, contains over 5,000 design drawings and cartoons for stained glass pieces created by the Whitefriars Glass Company, a prominent glass company operating out of England for over three centuries. This planning grant addresses several key challenges faced by libraries and museums when conserving large, oversized paper collections and making them available for public access and collaboration with other institutions. Accessibility and discoverability will be explored through planning a website that uses crowdsourcing to promote collaboration and participation among institutions and general audiences.