The university museum at southern illinois university will continue to establish greater intellectual and physical control over its extensive holdings by implementing the fourth phase of their…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University $819,290 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to support the fourth phase of a collections inventory project at the University Museum.

The University Museum will inventory holdings across multiple collection categories—fossils, decorative arts, numismatics, militariana, Louis Sullivan architectural ornament, and other small collections—by recording object data directly into the collections management system. The museum will minimize additional movement and handling by inventorying objects in their current storage locations, verify and record object data, and rehouse any objects identified as unstable. Two full-time research assistants will carry out these activities.

Performance occurs in Edwardsville, Illinois, with a period of performance through August 31, 2028.

The university museum at southern illinois university will continue to establish greater intellectual and physical control over its extensive holdings by implementing the fourth phase of their collections inventory project. Project activities will include inventorying objects in their current locations to minimize additional movement and handling, verifying and recording object data directly into the collections management system from the storage facility, and rehousing any objects identified as unstable. The museum will hire two full-time research assistants to carry out these activities. The project will result in the survey and inventory of the fossils, decorative arts, numismatics, militariana, louis sullivan architectural ornament, and other small collections.