National Archives Sponsors Major Conference on Preserving the Charters of Freedom
Press Release · Thursday, August 4, 2005

Washington, DC… The National Archives and Records Administration will host a major conference on the preservation of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights on Thursday, September 22nd. The 19^th annual NARA preservation conference, "Parchment & Titanium: Preserving the Charters of Freedom", focuses on the multiyear project to examine, conserve and re-encase the founding documents of the United States. The conference will take place in the William G. McGowan Theater at the National Archives Building in Washington DC.

Conference attendees will be invited to a special viewing of the encased documents in their new visitor-friendly display cases. The conference which is open to the public is geared towards the interested public, as well as historians and archivists, museum and library professionals, conservators, exhibit designers, and preservation specialists. The registration fee is $75.

Speakers will discuss:

• The saga and journeys of the Charters of Freedom
• The history of sealed encasements for preservation and display
• The design, fabrication and testing of a state of the art sealed encasement
• First hand observations on the physical condition of the Charters and evidence of past history revealed in examination and treatment
• Making the Charters and the Rotunda fully accessible to the public and new display criteria for the Charters

The Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein will welcome guests. Speakers will include National Archives conservators who examined and carried out conservation of these founding documents, conservator Don Etherington, papermaker Timothy Barrett, National Archives exhibition staff who addressed the issues of accessibility, lighting and aesthetics, and National Institute of Standards and Technology experts Charles Tilford and Richard Rhorer, among others.

Advance registration is recommended. See our web site for more information about the conference and for registration information.

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For Press information, contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at 202-501-5526.

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