The Alexander Architectural Archive at the University of Texas at Austin is an architectural research center of national importance. As a unit of the University of Texas Libraries within the Architecture and Planning Library, the Archive supports research and education about the history of the built environment by acquiring and preserving research collections and by making them accessible. The Archive also supports learning opportunities and scholarly activities for students studying preservation of the cultural record and archival enterprise.

The Archive is fortunate to have a close and ongoing relationship with the Kilgarlin Center for the Preservation of the Cultural Record, which is part of the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. The Center focuses on preservation issues by conducting research, sponsoring symposia, and convening expert thinking on broad, timely, interrelated topics that address the management of our documentary heritage, and builds on the School's renowned graduate education program in preservation administration and conservation. Kilgarlin students learn the art and science of collections care and the methods of managing and promoting preservation activities in order to fulfill the fundamental goal of extending the life of materials in libraries and archives.

The Center began in 1981 as the Conservation Education Program in the School of Library Service at Columbia University. Graduates occupy leading conservator and preservation administration positions in cultural institutions around the world, applying the fundamental concepts of whole collections management. In 1992, this program was moved to the University of Texas at Austin under the name, Preservation and Conservation Studies (PCS). In 2004, the School of Information received generous funding to promote preservation and conservation from William and Margaret Kilgarlin. The Center is now named in their honor.

The Archive serves as a learning lab, providing Kilgarlin students opportunities for course work, volunteering, and employment. These opportunities provide practical experiences that enhance the learning environment. Student work conducted at the Archive includes: conservation treatments, re-housing collections, evaluating and updating the disaster plan, conducting preservation needs assessments as well as creating and evaluating environmental monitoring plans, writing mock grant proposals, and designing new storage options. Recently, the Archive established a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) preservation position through the generous gift of The Young Boozer Family Foundation. Work performed by Kilgarlin students, employed under this assistantship, fulfills a very vital role that is core to the Archive's mission. The Archive aims to continue its work with the Center and is seeking funding to establish a permanent Preservation GRA position for Kilgarlin students. For more information on how you can support this initiative please visit Support Your Libraries or contact the Archive Curator, Beth Dodd.

View Types of Work Performed by Kilgarlin Students.