A Collections Assessment at the Fort Sam Houston Museum Archives.

An archival collections assessment was performed at the Fort Sam Houston Museum which is a small to medium-sized institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The museum is staffed by two full-time employees who manage the day to day operations. The purpose of the assessment was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the museum's archival collections while focusing on short- and long-term preservation needs. This was done to establish preservation priorities that best utilize resources and staff efforts. Recommendations from the assessment resulted in an improved system of arrangement of the museum archives that utilized space more efficiently as well as the creation of a preservation needs hierarchy for materials in need of collections care. The assessment provided an opportunity to build a strong working relationship with a small group of museum professionals who must balance the delicate needs and demands of the institution and its stakeholders with the attention needed to properly care for unique and one of a kind items.