Many items in Rhode Island state archives are at risk of damage

PROVIDENCE — Many items in the Rhode Island archives, including the state’s copy of the Bill of Rights, are at risk of damage because they’re kept in a building that’s not meant for preserving rare, historic documents, according to an assessment released Tuesday.

There isn’t enough space to store or exhibit them properly, and water, light, dust and atmospheric pollution pose a risk to many of the items, according to the report by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. The collection has been housed since 1990 in a rented office building in a flood zone in downtown Providence.

An estimated 35% of the collection should be considered a high priority for conservation, the Andover, Massachusetts-based conservation center found. That includes the draft of the Bill of Rights sent to Rhode Island for its consideration, a map of the Revolutionary War Battle of Rhode Island and a printing of the Declaration of Independence from 1823.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, who released the report, is advocating for $52 million to construct a new building for the archives. She would like to display the Bill of Rights, which is currently in a wooden box in storage.

Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190528/report-many-items-in-ri-state-archives-are-at-risk-of-damage