At the Medical Center Archives, we are the caretakers of valuable records, photographs, artworks, audiovisual materials, and other important materials that document the history and day to day activities of the Duke University Medical Center and Duke University Health System’s departments and divisions. Because of the nature of these materials and the work we do, we are aware that the presence of pests in our physical spaces and collections can seriously damage these materials.
As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, we reappraised our current Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program last year with the aim of incorporating less harmful chemicals to control any potential infestation. IPM refers to pest control and prevention programs that rely on several simultaneous approaches to minimize the risk of infestation and damage from pests in buildings and storage spaces.
We are committed to low-toxicity methods of controlling infestations, which is why we recently partnered with the Cole Mill Cattery to provide us with a pair of unneutered starter cats to not only help control any mice or large insects that gain entrance to the Archives through the building envelope, but to also start our own cat breeding program specifically targeted to cultural heritage intuitions!
To learn more about this exciting and innovative new program and/or sign up to be added to our waitlist for your very own archives cat, visit the Archives’ new Cats in the Stacks Website today!
This blog post was contributed by Technical Services Head Lucy Waldrop
(Posted on April 1, 2022)