Press

ALBANY, NY – Governor George Pataki’s proposed 2006-2007 budget, released today, creates a Cultural Education Trust and allocates $20 million toward the construction of a new Office of Cultural Education (OCE) Collection and Research Center, as well as $20 million for the public display of the collections of the State Museum, Library and Archives.

The new state-of-the-art collections center will accommodate all of the Museum’s collections and research laboratories, the State Records Center and parts of the collections of the New York State Library and Archives. The Cultural Education Center (CEC) on Madison Avenue will continue as the primary public service and education space for the three OCE institutions, including the Museum’s exhibition galleries, the Research Library and Archives public spaces and other OCE public and educational program areas.

In 2003 a blue ribbon panel of distinguished experts from the nation’s major cultural institutions visited Albany and concluded that both the State Museum and the State Records Center, located at the Harriman State Office campus, are filled beyond capacity and their irreplaceable collections are threatened by insufficient space and obsolete and substandard storage facilities. The Museum currently stores larger items in its collections in a non-insulated, partially heated, leased warehouse in Rotterdam. It also leases laboratory facilities in North Greenbush.

The new facility will ensure that the collections are properly stored in an environment with appropriate temperature and humidity controls. It will be a “green” building that utilizes modern technology to reduce pollution and save energy. The collections storage area will be based on a modular design that will meet the space needs of the Museum and Records Center for a minimum of 25 years.

The need for a new State Records Center Storage Facility was made even more pressing by a recent discovery of asbestos at the current facility at the Harriman campus. The building was closed and its 14 employees were transferred while tests are conducted to determine whether asbestos found in the

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building presents a danger.

The State Museum, Library and Archives house historic treasures that reflect over 170 years of collecting and research in the earth sciences, biology and human history and 375 years of documentation by New York’s colonial and state governments. The Museum has 12.5 million specimens and artifacts and the Archives and Library have more than 140 million documents, volumes and manuscripts.

The allocation for the public display of the collections of the State Museum, Library and Archives will allow OCE to chronicle the state’s history in a more comprehensive manner, using state-of-the art technology. The expanded display will also allow the Museum, Library and Archives to bring to the public exhibit floors many more items currently stored away.

The New York State Museum, Library and Archives are programs of the New York State Department of Education. Founded in 1836, the museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the U.S. Further information on the Museum can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov. Information on the State Archives is available at www.archives.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 473-9098 and State Library information can be found at www.nysl.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 474-5355.

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