Canterbury shaker village will implement a two-year project to advance control and stewardship of its collections

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Canterbury Shaker Village Inc. $1,243,654 under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) on September 1, 2026, to advance control and stewardship of the organization's collections over a two-year period ending August 31, 2028.

Canterbury Shaker Village will hire and train two temporary full-time inventory curators and a part-time database specialist to inventory and catalog approximately 25,000 objects from its collection. The project includes improving storage conditions, developing conservation priorities, reviewing and updating the collections database, and developing a designated space to support collections care and public engagement. A digitization consultant will assist with digital photography of objects for public access. This project supports an ongoing phased collections management initiative designed to make the organization's collections more accessible for use by museum staff, educators, and researchers.

Performance occurs at Canterbury, New Hampshire. Canterbury Shaker Village Inc. is a nonprofit organization that serves as steward of one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Shaker artifacts, archives, and historic buildings remaining in an original Shaker community. The Museums for America program supports museums in project-based efforts addressing collections stewardship, curation, care, and conservation as key institutional strategic goals.

The museum will hire and train two temporary full-time inventory curators and a part-time database specialist to work with staff to inventory and catalog approximately 25,000 objects; improve storage conditions and develop conservation priorities; review and update the collections database; and develop a designated space to support collections care and public engagement. A digitization consultant will assist with the digital photography of objects for public access. As part of an ongoing phased collections management initiative, the project will address a major institutional need and make its collections more accessible for use by museum staff, educators, and researchers.