Conversations with Change Makers #8: Building Partnerships for Collections Preservation and Climate Action at The New York Public Library

The AIC Sustainability Committee is excited to announce the eighth in a series of webinars where we chat with conservators and allied professionals who are implementing changes to reduce the energy consumption of their buildings.

The energy used to heat, cool, de/humidify, and light buildings is the biggest environmental impact of the cultural heritage sector. After decades of regarding one-size-fits-all, non-fluctuating indoor environmental parameters as the gold standard, the field is now questioning the value of this approach. And as the recent extreme weather and the associated risks to cultural heritage continue to remind us, the need for change is urgent.

On Friday October 25th 12:00 - 1:00 ET, join us as we speak with members of the collections care team at the New York Public Library (NYPL): Becky Fifield, Associate Director, Collections Management; Colleen Grant, Senior Collection Manager at the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; and Deborah Straussman, Head Registrar. They will discuss how they are facilitating reduction of energy use by clarifying preservation goals and fostering active collaboration with colleagues and potential lenders to their exhibitions.

Rebecca Fifield

Senior Manager, Collection Management

New York Public Library

Rebecca Fifield is Senior Manager, Collection Management at The New York Public Library. She has over thirty years of experience working with both large and small library, art, and history collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She received an M.A. in Museum Studies from The George Washington University in 1999, where she received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship to study collections care administration. A frequent speaker on emergency preparedness and collection care topics, she is the author of "Emergency Management" in Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage. A Professional Associate of AIC, Becky is former Chair of the American Institute for Conservation’s Collection Care Network and former Chair of the Alliance for Response NYC.

Colleen Grant

Senior Collection Manager at the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building

New York Public Library

Colleen Grant is the Senior Collection Manager at the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Prior to joining NYPL, she was a Collections Inventory Project Leader at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She holds an M.A. in Museum Studies with a concentration in Collections Management from The George Washington University and a B.A. in Art History from Loyola University Maryland. She is currently in her second term as the Social Media Chair for AIC’s Preventive Care Network.

Deborah Straussman

Head Registrar

New York Public LIbrary

Deborah Straussman is the Sr Registrar at the New York Public Library and has worked at NYPL for sixteen years. She worked at The Museum of Modern Art in the exhibitions administration department before coming to NYPL. She holds an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University, and a BA in Art History and Studio Art from Barnard College. She is an active member of the Association of Registrars and Collection Specialists, serving as the conference co-chair in 2022 and on the conference committee in 2021 and 2023.