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Grant program: Preservation Assistance Grants
Date range: 2020-2024

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Page size:
 321 items in 7 pages
Award Number Grant ProgramAward RecipientProject TitleAward PeriodApproved Award Total
Page size:
 321 items in 7 pages
PG-271348-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsNebraska Historical SocietyArchival Moving Image Film Storage9/1/2020 - 3/31/2021$10,000.00PaulJ.Eisloeffel   Nebraska Historical SocietyLincolnNE68508-1651USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse 2,300 moving image reels documenting the history and culture of Nebraska from 1923 to 1980. Film highlights include a 39-part series produced in 1954, documenting the history, pre-history, and natural history of the Great Plains states; a documentary about the racial integration of two Lutheran churches in Omaha in the early 1960s; a training film on hunting ethics produced in 1976; early home movies of the St. Augustine Mission School for Native Americans, dating from the late 1920s and early 1930s; amateur footage of Nebraska’s 134th Infantry Regiment in action in Europe during World War II; and a biography of Nebraskan U.S. Poet Laureate John G. Neihardt.

Studies have shown that archival motion picture films can benefit from proper storage in vented cans made of inert plastic. This project is designed to provide such storage to approximately 2300 archival 16mm moving image reels now stored in substandard containers.

PG-271359-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsNorthwestern Michigan CollegeEnvironmental Preservation Equipment for Enhanced Collections Care at the Dennos Museum Center9/1/2020 - 4/30/2021$9,062.00CraigRayHadley   Northwestern Michigan CollegeTraverse CityMI49686-3061USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access906208824.950

The purchase of supplies to aid the Dennos Museum Center in environmental monitoring of its storage and display spaces. This was recommended in a 2010 preservation assessment. The museum has one of the country’s largest collections of contemporary Inuit art, numbering 1,600 works, in addition to works by artists of regional note, and contemporary Chinese and Japanese ceramics and glass. The museum welcomes over 62,000 visitors annually, serving as an art museum for the community college as well as local and regional audiences of all ages.

The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College respectfully requests $9,062 to purchase environmental dataloggers, a UV light meter, and a HEPA vacuum cleaner to enhance preservation efforts. These tools will support the professionalization of collections care following a leadership transition in 2019, which has led to a renewed focus on preservation and access. According to a 2010 General Conservation Assessment conducted by conservator Barbara Heller (Detroit Institute of Arts), the Dennos was strongly encouraged to acquire these critical preservation tools. The new equipment will enable the Dennos to properly care for its nearly 3,000 works of art, with core holdings in 20th century Inuit works on paper and hardstone carvings, along with regional modern and contemporary artists. The collection directly supports teaching and programming initiatives at Northwestern Michigan College, along with exhibitions and programs for over 62,000 general visitors each year.

PG-271387-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsLittle Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa IndiansLTBB Archives Historic Records Preservation9/1/2020 - 2/28/2022$10,000.00Eric Hemenway   Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa IndiansHarbor SpringsMI49740-9692USA2020Native American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access1000009990.340

The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse two archival collections, and the development of a long-term plan for rehousing the remainder of the tribe’s collections. The Archives Department cares for nine collections consisting of 160,000 documents, 3,000 images, and 250 artifacts that document the history and culture of the Odawa Indians. The research archive of ethnohistorian James McClurken and the Shawnibin collection, containing personal correspondence and photographs from the late-nineteenth through mid-twentieth centuries, would be prioritized for this project. The archives are used for education and outreach, exhibits, and research.

The LTBB Archives Department (Archives) maintains collections that critical resources for public uses including articles, presentations and exhibits. LTBB was awarded an FY 2016 Preservation Assistance Grant that provided funds to hire a consultant to review our archives, develop a long-range preservation plan and develop a moving/rehousing plan. The result of this project, an assessment report, will guide the next phase of preservation effort. The goal of this project is to improve long-term sustainability of the historic and archival materials within the Archives for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. By the end of the 18-month project period, Archives will have adequate preservation supplies to rehouse two significant collections in acid-free materials that will provide more safe and secure storage and an updated plan for the quantity of additional materials needed to preserve the remainder of the current collections.

PG-271390-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsGood Will-HinckleyPhase 6: Developing Storage Space and Housing Significant Humanities Collections9/1/2020 - 1/31/2022$5,844.00DeborahW.Staber   Good Will-HinckleyHinckleyME04944-0159USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access5844058440

The purchase of preservation furniture and supplies and the hiring of a consultant to offer training in collections care in partnership with Maine Archives and Museums for regional museum staff. The L.C. Bates Museum cares for a collection of artworks and artifacts related to the daily life of children living in Good Will-Hinckley Homes, childcare centers and orphanages that operated in Maine in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collections include farming and ice-cutting tools used by the boys, and fabric arts and rug-making equipment used by the girls, which help to show the work skills taught to those under the care of the Good Will centers. The collections are used for research, exhibits, and educational programs on the history of childcare and orphan life.

The L.C. Bates Museum’s project goal is to improve collection’s care and preservation by completing phase 6 of Developing Storage Spaces and Housing Significant Historic Objects in the museum’s 2 floor storage space. The stored collections are relevant to the national history of childcare and its study as exemplified by Good Will-Hinckley Homes (GWH) and/or Maine history. This storage project, a prioritized collections care goal of the Museum’s 2018-22 Strategic Plan, follows the recommendations of our 2008 RE-CAP, 2012 MAP Collections Stewardship and Ron Harvey’s 2000 Collection Survey and 2010-19 climate monitoring reports. The project is designed to turn an unused space on the second floor into an appropriate and used long-term storage space for humanities objects and provide collections care training through working with the conservator and a preservation workshop presented in colaboration with Maine archives and Museums by the project conservator Ron Harvey.

PG-271408-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsCity of ManitowocPreserving and Protecting the Rahr-West Art Museum Collection9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00DianaJeanBolander   City of ManitowocManitowocWI54220-4543USA2020Art History and CriticismPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

The purchase of storage furniture, equipment, and preservation supplies, as well as implementation of an integrated pest management policy, installation of water detection alarms, rehousing of sculpture, and preventative care for object storage. The museum houses primarily two-dimensional works of art from the nineteenth through twenty-first century, with an emphasis on American and Wisconsin artists. Informed by a 2019 Collections Assessment for Preservation, the proposed project would allow the applicant to address several key recommendations in Phase II of its five-year plan, which endeavors to maintain a safe and clean environment for the museum’s collections.

This grant project addresses the Rahr-West Art Museum’s need to provide safe and accessible environments for its collections by addressing several key recommendations from the 2019 Collections Assessment (CAP) done through the IMLS-funded and FAIC administered Collections Assessment Program.

PG-271424-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWofford CollegePreservation Assessment of the works of Julia Elizabeth Tolbert9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$6,942.00Youmi Efurd   Wofford CollegeSpartanburgSC29303-3612USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access6942069420

An item-level conservation survey of 139 works of art on paper by Julia Elizabeth Tolbert (1911–1978), a twentieth-century artist of note in the Southeast. Wofford’s Richardson Family Art Museum has nearly 300 works of art by Tolbert, the most complete collection of her work. This comprises a substantial portion of the museum’s 1,400 object permanent collection, which is made accessible for research and cross-disciplinary teaching. This project builds on recommendations from a 2019 preservation assessment.

Wofford College’s Richardson Family Art Museum (RFAM) requests a grant of $6,942 from the NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions program. The grant will support an item-by-item survey of 139 works on paper by Julia Elizabeth Tolbert. The assessment will evaluate the conditions and general management of its collection. The consultants’ visit and evaluation will result in a written assessment report with the following recommendations: 1) recommendations for planning and prioritizing immediate and long-term conservation treatment needs of items; 2) recommendations for proper handling and management, including storage and display; 3) recommendations for development of strategies to improve current collections care practices for works on paper. The goals of the project are derived from recommendations based on the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) Program participation in 2019.

PG-271573-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsSt. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence University Brush Gallery Preservation Needs Assessment9/1/2020 - 2/28/2021$9,082.00Catherine Tedford   St. Lawrence UniversityCantonNY13617-1423USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9082082000

An assessment of preservation needs and development of recommendations for use of building space at the Brush Art Gallery. Within the wide-ranging collection of over 7,000 objects, photography is a particular strength. These images  range from works by American masters to those by amateurs in a series on American G.I.’s and nurses during the Vietnam War. The photography collection was begun by Michael Hoffman, founder of the Aperture Foundation and a graduate of St. Lawrence University.

The Richard F. Brush Art Gallery (Gallery) at St. Lawrence University (SLU) seeks a specialist to provide a Preservation Needs Assessment and Space Specifications Report in order to update previous assessment reports, comply with current best practices, and lay the groundwork for future facilities planning.

PG-271577-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsYMCA of the RockiesYMCA of the Rockies Photograph Archives Collection Preservation Assessment9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$8,488.00KarenJaneLloyd D'Onofrio   YMCA of the RockiesEstes ParkCO80511-9500USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access848806522.180

A preservation assessment for a collection of 45,000 photographs and the purchase of supplies for their rehousing. The collection includes images dating from the late nineteenth century to the present that document the people, events, and environment of the YMCA camps near Estes Park, Colorado, and the history of tourism and recreation in the Rocky Mountain region, even prior to the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park. The collections are frequently drawn upon for museum exhibits and are also available for research requests and used in YMCA publications.

The preservation assessment of the YMCA of the Rockies photograph archives collection will provide the institution with detailed process steps to preserve our most vulnerable collections, and will include: recommendations on re-housing and organization of the collection; and digitization for preservation of and access to the collection. The collection spans the 20th century and documents the history of the organization and the people who attended the camp over a period of more than one hundred more years. The collection provides us with a snapshot of life at a YMCA camp and the local area during a time of rapid growth in tourism in the U.S. West.

PG-271581-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWadsworth Atheneum Museum of ArtGeneral Preservation Assessment of the Auerbach Art Library and Wadsworth Atheneum Archives9/1/2020 - 10/31/2021$7,521.00Amy Kilkenny   Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of ArtHartfordCT06103-2911USA2020Arts, OtherPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access752107331.440

A preservation assessment of the Atheneum’s library and archives, which contain 50,000 bound volumes, 3,000 linear feet of archival material, and 200 periodical titles that date from the seventeenth century to the present. The Wadsworth Atheneum is the oldest continuously operating public art museum in the United States. Its library and archives house materials that document its history, are relevant to its collection, and support art historical research more broadly for staff, docents, and visiting scholars. Collection highlights include the museum’s first published Catalogue of Paintings from 1844, artists’ books donated by Sol Le Witt, a manuscript collection that documents the business and family of Rhode Island merchant Benjamin Fowler (1937–1818), and records of the Connecticut Historical Society and Hartford Public Library, which were housed within the Atheneum until the 1950s.

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art respectfully requests a grant of $7,521 from the NEH Preservation Assistance Grant program to undertake a general preservation assessment of the Auerbach Art Library and Wadsworth Atheneum Archives, a collection spanning more than 50,000 bound volumes, 3,000 linear feet of archival materials, and 200 periodical titles. Conducted by a consultant from the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), the assessment will evaluate the building and environment as they relate to the preservation needs of the materials; examine current policies, storage, and handling procedures; and assess the general condition of a representative sample of the collections. Observations and recommendations will be presented in a written report that will identify short-, medium-, and long-term preservation priorities. The general preservation assessment will be a vital step in the development of a long-range preservation plan for the Library and Archives.

PG-271583-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsShaker Heritage SocietyEnvironmental Assessment Program9/1/2020 - 10/31/2021$6,870.00JohannaGraceBatman   Shaker Heritage SocietyAlbanyNY12211-1004USA2020American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access687006413.360

A preservation assessment by the Landmark Facilities Group to recommend improved environmental control for the main collection storage area of the Shaker Meeting House, a clapboard structure dating from 1848, along with the purchase and installation of dataloggers. The collection encompasses 600 to 700 objects (furniture, textiles, archival material, and household objects and workshop tools), postcards, ephemera associated with the Watervliet community from the mid-nineteenth century through the 1930’s, organization records, and historical photographs. The project would significantly improve problematic storage conditions, allow staff to reorganize the entire collection in a more stable environment, and make it more accessible to themselves, members, visitors, researchers, and educators.

Shaker Heritage is requesting PAG support to hire a consultant to conduct a two-part evaluation. The first phase will encompass an onsite visit and evaluation of our HVAC system, thermal envelope, and associated pipes and ductwork on the third floor adjacent to our collections storage space to identify deficiencies and develop a prioritized list of recommendations for implementation. The second phase will involve the purchase and programming of dataloggers for installation throughout the historic building to allow us to monitor conditions. The work will conclude with an annual report prepared by the consultant that charts and summarizes temperature and humidity trends.

PG-271599-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsFlorida Historical SocietyGeneral Preservation Assessment9/1/2020 - 2/28/2022$8,000.00Holly Baker   Florida Historical SocietyCocoaFL32922-7901USA2020Public HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access8000080000

A preservation assessment of the historical society’s Library of Florida to determine needs for storage and environmental controls. The materials range from sixteenth-century Spanish rare books to nineteenth-century cotton plantation account books. The Florida Historical Society has made its collections accessible both through cataloging and digitization, as well as by outreach activities that include radio programs, educational opportunities, and scholarly publications.

A general preservation assessment of the Florida Historical Society's Library of Florida History holdings by a professional preservation consultant.

PG-271608-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWiregrass Museum of Art, Inc.Preservation Supplies9/1/2020 - 9/30/2021$9,987.00Dana-Marie Lemmer   Wiregrass Museum of Art, Inc.DothanAL36303-4802USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9987099870

The purchase of preservation supplies and environmental monitoring equipment, as recommended by a 2018 preservation assessment. These include storage supplies as well as equipment for collecting data and monitoring light levels, temperature, and humidity. The Wiregrass Museum of Art, a small contemporary art museum in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama, maintains a collection of over 1,100 objects in its Permanent Collection, Education Collection, and objects on long-term loan. This project would help the museum apply best practices in collections care and support its long-term goal of national accreditation.

Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) will fulfill strategic objectives outlined in its CAP Report, to operate in best practices and work toward its goal of national accreditation. This project will purchase preservation supplies for care of objects in the museum's care, including collections and objects on long term loan.

PG-271609-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsMichigan State UniversityMichigan State University Museum Siyazama Collection Rehousing and Photography Project9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$9,900.80Lynne Swanson   Michigan State UniversityEast LansingMI48824-3407USA2020Arts, OtherPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9900.8099000

The purchase of storage equipment for the Siyazama Project collection, which is housed at the university’s museum and consists of 66 traditional craft works created by South African women as part of an organized art and health initiative during the HIV/AIDS crisis. The collection is the most representative of this initiative located in any museum; smaller collections of Siyazama Project works can be found at the British Museum, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, and other institutions. Acquired in 2014, the collection has been incorporated into on-site and touring exhibitions, student-focused programs, and in scholarly publications.

Michigan State University Museum is the recent recipient of a collection of 66 objects made in South Africa by women as part of the Siyazama Project. The specific goal of this project is to appropriately house this collection in museum-quality cabinetry, using appropriate storage materials and methods. The materials were donated in late 2014, have been cleaned, cataloged, photographed and numbered. New cabinetry is necessary to provide safe and permanently housing. The goal of the project is to provide this protection to promote the preservation of the collection over time. The Siyazama [Zulu for "we are trying"] Project is an art and health initiative in South Africa (KwaZulu Natal Province )begun in the late 1990s. The project worked with rural traditional women artists on arts-based strategies to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and strengthen opportunities for craft-based economic development. MSU Museum's holdings are the best representation of the project in the world.

PG-271620-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWestern Kentucky UniversityProtecting the Mrs. A. H. Taylor Collection9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00SandraL.Staebell   Western Kentucky UniversityBowling GreenKY42101-1000USA2020Public HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access1000009999.110

The purchase of a cabinet and preservation supplies to rehouse a collection of 19 articles of clothing designed and made by Mrs. A. H. Taylor, owner of a Bowling Green, Kentucky, clothing factory that made garments from 1880 to 1917, primarily for the American South and Southwest. The collection helps to demonstrate female entrepreneurship at the turn of the twentieth century and is currently used in both exhibitions and classroom settings. The applicant would also engage the assistance of a textile conservator to give recommendations for rehousing the Taylor collection and to conduct a general preservation assessment of the rest of the university’s textile collection.

This project supports purchase of storage supplies and engagement of a consulting conservator to rehouse the nationally significant Mrs. A. H. Taylor Costume Collection. Sewn between 1880 and 1917, these fashions are associated with a Bowling Green, KY., clothing factory owner who went from a small-town dressmaker to a business entrepreneur whose client-base extended throughout the American South and Southwest. The Collection is particularly useful in examining the ways in which Victorian and Edwardian women participated in business on a local, regional, and national scale. By rehousing this collection, the Kentucky Museum ensures its continued care and accessibility for research, teaching, and creative projects, such as an upcoming exhibit on Mrs. A. H. Taylor’s life and work and their use in Fashion Merchandising classes at WKU.

PG-271621-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsFilson Historical SocietyImproving Preservation and Disaster Practices at The Filson Historical Society9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$8,580.00Danielle Spalenka   Filson Historical SocietyLouisvilleKY40208-2306USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access8580085800

A preservation needs and disaster preparedness assessment to improve the care of over two million items documenting the history of Kentucky and the Ohio Valley Region. Most notably, the collection includes original materials related to the Lewis and Clarke expedition, including sources pertaining to the life of the enslaved man whom William Clarke brought on their journey. The award would also provide four data loggers to monitor environmental conditions in a new storage space, as well as the historical society’s exhibition area.

The Filson Historical Society seeks funds to contract an independent consultant to conduct a general preservation needs assessment and for disaster preparedness training for staff and area archivists. In addition, funds would be used to improve preservation practices with the purchase of HOBO data loggers to be used in the new collection storage spaces. The assessment will evaluate the Filson’s special collections, which consist of paper-based materials, photographs, oversized collections, and audio-visual collections. The assessment will result in a written report that will provide preservation priorities and will serve as the map for preservation planning and goals for the Filson. The ability to purchase additional HOBO data loggers would expand the environmental monitoring practices to all collection storage areas.

PG-271622-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsMark Twain MemorialConservation Assessment of Certain Mark Twain Belongings from the Collections of The Mark Twain House & Museum9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$2,690.00Mallory Howard   Mark Twain MemorialHartfordCT06105-6400USA2020American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access2690026840

An assessment by conservators from the Williamstown Art Conservation Center of the conservation treatment needs of nine priority items, all of which were owned by Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”). They include a travel trunk and case, a lithograph, and the six pockets of a billiard table. The project would allow the museum to prioritize the work that needs to be done and provide the detail it needs in order to budget, and seek funding, for the recommended treatment of these nine items that facilitate interpretation of the period and of Twain’s life. The proposed work was recommended in a broader assessment of the museum’s collections, supported by a 2019 Preservation Assistance Grant.

The Mark Twain House & Museum will engage a professional conservator to assess the conservation treatment needs of nine objects in the museum’s collections, all of which were personal belongings of Samuel Clemens (“Mark Twain”). The objects are irreplaceable artifacts of America’s literary history and culture, which provide unique and valuable insight into Mark Twain, his work, his era, and his enduring legacy. The project will provide the museum with the information needed to set conservation priorities, and to budget and fundraise for conservation work that will improve the condition of the objects. The project’s ultimate goal is to ensure the preservation of the objects so that they will continue to be available for display in the historic Mark Twain House, which is a National Historic Landmark, and in exhibitions at the museum and at other cultural institutions, as well as for research by museum staff, scholars, and others.

PG-271629-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsSociety for the Preservation of Long Island AntiquitiesPreservation Long Island Emergency Preparedness and Response Program9/1/2020 - 11/30/2021$10,000.00LaurenHollyBrincat   Society for the Preservation of Long Island AntiquitiesCold Spring HarborNY11724-1403USA2020Public HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

The hiring of a consultant from the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts to develop an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for the five properties that house Preservation Long Island’s humanities collections, as well as the purchase of emergency supplies for each site. The project would protect a collection of 3,000 objects made or used on Long Island from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, which range from an eighteenth-century silk gown and shoes to the original 1930s road signs for Robert Moses’s Northern State Parkway. The proposed plan would also safeguard the holdings of the archives: one hundred maps; thousands of twentieth-century images; tourism guidebooks, planning reports, and real estate brochures; and personal papers from prominent Long Island families.

Preservation Long Island seeks a Preservation Assistance Grant from the NEH to support the development of a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Program for PLI's three historic houses, collections storage facility, and headquarters and exhibition gallery that house and display its historic collections, consisting of over 3,000 objects and 185 cubic feet of archival materials that reveal four centuries of life on Long Island. Funding will be used to hire a consultant from the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts to visit PLI's properties and to work with PLI's curator to write and compile an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan tailored to PLI's sites and needs, and to purchase emergency supplies for each property. Stewardship is a key element of PLI’s mission. The development of a new Emergency Preparedness and Response Program will allow PLI to safeguard its collections and strengthen its commitment to their care and preservation.

PG-271633-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsTown of BrimfieldHistorical Room: Comprehensive Needs Assessment9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00Rebecca Wells   Town of BrimfieldBrimfieldMA01010-7705USA2020Public HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access10000099950

A preservation assessment, a preservation workshop for staff, and the purchase of supplies to rehouse a collection of glass-plate negatives in the Brimfield Public Library. These photographic negatives depict life in Brimfield from the late 1800s to early 1900s and document the changes to and growth of the community, including buildings and landscape that no longer exist. In addition to a local early American history collection, the town’s library holds clippings and ephemera that trace the 50-year history of the Brimfield Flea Market, which, with over one million visitors three times a year, is the largest outdoor market in the United States.

The Brimfield Public Library houses a significant collection of photographs, glass plate negatives, oral histories, and documents, dating back to the 1700s, on the history of Brimfield, MA. Many are one-of-a-kind, which contributes to their importance and necessitates their proper care. This collection provides insight into the religious, political and daily life of a small New England town, records the accomplishments of town residents who achieved national fame, and documents the families, buildings and events that fostered the town’s growth. These records are accessed on a regular basis by genealogists, historians, authors, and town residents. The grant would provide funding for a professional preservation consultant to carry out a comprehensive needs assessment to assist the Library in developing industry standard methodologies for inventorying, preserving and storing these items in a format that still allows the contents’ availability to researchers and library patrons.

PG-271637-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsTown of ConcordTown of Concord Archives - Preservation Needs Assessment with NEDCC9/1/2020 - 3/31/2021$8,405.00Nathanial Smith   Town of ConcordConcordMA01742-1826USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access840508321.40

A preservation assessment for bound and unbound official records of the Town of Concord government from the mid-seventeenth century to the present. The resulting plan would help the town to preserve a collection currently housed in multiple locations. The materials are used by professional and amateur historians alike, and with the recent hiring of a Curator of Special Collections, Concord would share and disseminate the collection more broadly.

The Town of Concord will engage consultants from the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) to review the holdings of the Town of Concord Archives located at the Town House and the Concord Free Public Library. NEDCC will complete a General Preservation Assessment Report which will guide future preservation planning activities and budgeting. In addition, the Town of Concord Archives is seeking funding for supplies to re-house collections.

PG-271639-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsCharleston County GovernmentArchival Training and Preservation of Historical Records at the Charleston County Records Center: 250th Anniversary of America Initiative9/1/2020 - 2/28/2022$15,000.00Haley Doty Vaden   Charleston County GovernmentNorth CharlestonSC29405-7464USA2020American GovernmentPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access150000150000

Education and training to enhance staff knowledge of metadata assessment, object description, and best practices in digitization. This work is a first step in developing finding aids and digital collections in preparation for the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. The County of Charleston collections include probate records dating back to the incorporation of the town in the early eighteenth century and document the transition from British rule to independence.

The goal of the Preservation Assistance Grant project is to support preservation and training for public access to historical records at the Charleston County Records Center (CCRC). An emphasis will be placed on “A More Perfect Union,” the 250th Anniversary of the United States. One goal of the project will be archival training to catalog and describe historical collections pertaining to American History. Another goal of the project will be to continue an ongoing re-housing program for records with a permanent retention. Two previously funded Preservation Assistance Grants have helped support the CCRC preservation program. The historic records include Probate Court books and files from the 1730s – 1970s and Clerk of Court case files from the early 1800s – 1899. The Preservation Assistance Grant will benefit CCRC by training staff in best practices for providing digital access to records of historical value and improve the storage environment of these records, to reduce risks.

PG-271641-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsCounty of EriePreservation assessment of local history collections for Erie County Public Library9/1/2020 - 12/31/2021$6,700.00Anitra Gates   County of ErieEriePA16501-1011USA2020History, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access670006330.90

A preservation assessment of the Erie County Library Public Library local history collections, which consist of 18,500 items, including a microfilm collection, art and other three-dimensional objects, maps, genealogical records, and monographs. Students, genealogists, regional historians, and community partners frequently use these collections. Among the highlights from the repository’s artifacts are Civil War battle flags from two regiments of Pennsylvania volunteers.

A professional preservation assessment of the Erie County Public Library’s local history collection. The local history collection contains about 20,000 monographs, about 2,000 of which are housed in a rare book vault. The collection also contains maps, artwork, Civil War artifacts and battle flags, and an extensive microfilm collection of newspapers with regional significance. This publicly accessible collection is extensively used by genealogists and local historians. To ensure the longevity and proper stewardship of this collection, the Library seeks funding to hire Dyani Feige from the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts to conduct a preservation assessment. The assessment will include evaluation of the building and environment, security and emergency preparedness, collection storage and treatment, and preservation planning. The resulting report will be used as a guide for creating meaningful, prioritized short-term and long-term preservation projects.

PG-271642-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsSouthwest Florida Military Museum & Library, Inc.Strategic Plan priorities; Environmental Assessments; Improved Storage Plan; Development of a new Emergency Plan9/1/2020 - 3/31/2021$10,000.00Denise Wood   Southwest Florida Military Museum & Library, Inc.Cape CoralFL33904-9151USA2020Military HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A general preservation assessment and a building assessment, and development of a disaster and emergency response plan to help preserve a collection that documents military life and service for Florida veterans from all branches of military service. Serving a broad public, the museum and library care for art, artifacts, photographs, audiovisual recordings, books, manuscripts, and correspondence that tell the history of war and military service from the Revolutionary War to the present. The museum and library serve researchers, and offer exhibits and educational programs.

Draft A New Disaster Plan, covering prioritized needs and the appropriate order in which to address various improvements. Aspects will include; Collection Inventory and codition assessment; Environmental monitoring; Integrated Pest Control; Storage Furniture and storage design; Mechanical assessement and renovation planning

PG-271645-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsJefferson County Public LibraryNew Ideas for a Two Century Place: Jefferson County Public Library History Collection Preservation Assessment9/1/2020 - 1/31/2022$9,462.00CamilleB.Fife   Jefferson County Public LibraryMadisonIN47250-3717USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access946209341.350

A preservation assessment and purchase of preservation supplies for monographs, microfilm, maps, and archival collections. The microfilm contains long runs of local newspapers, including the Madison Courier, which is not available elsewhere in Indiana. The archives include a collection of 10,000 photographs that document people, schools, homes, businesses, landmark sites, and Ohio River steamboats from the first decades of the twentieth century. A number of scholars have consulted these collections for research on the anti-slavery movement in the nineteenth-century. The collections are also widely used by genealogists and local historians.

A preservation assessment of the library's history collection, including 10,000 photographic images, nearly 7,000 books, 3,500 microfilms and many other documents will help the library create a long-term preservation program. In addition, the grant request includes funds for archival materials needed on a short-term basis to assure preservation of existing documents. The Jefferson County Public Library is located in Madison, Indiana, a small rural town with a long and distinguished history. The library celebrated its 200th year in 2018. Madison has been honored as an icon of American values, and by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of three Main Street pilot sites in the 1970s. It is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the country, designated in 2006 and it is documented by HABS and HAER with over 36 listings. The Jefferson County Public Library has been an important part of the humanistic research required by all of these distinctions.

PG-271646-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsInternational Arts and Artists, Inc.Preservation Assessment of works from the Hechinger Collection9/1/2020 - 12/31/2024$10,000.00Eileen Streeter   International Arts and Artists, Inc.WashingtonDC20008-1930USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A preservation assessment of 58 objects from International Art and Artists’ (IA&A) Hechinger Collection, which includes almost 400 works of art primarily from the post-World War II era, including prints, drawings, paintings, and sculptures. Selected works have been included in popular traveling exhibitions around the United States for the past 18 years. The assessment outcomes would ultimately enable the IA&A to continue developing new traveling exhibitions and increasing public access to the collection.

An NEH Preservation Assistance Grant would support International Art and Artists’ (IA&A) engagement of Williamstown Art Conservation Center to perform a three-day preservation assessment of 58 items from IA&A’s historically significant Hechinger Collection. The Hechinger Collection, featuring nearly 400 works of art, was donated to IA&A in 2003 by hardware-industry pioneer John Hechinger, Sr. The collection’s contemporary prints, drawings, paintings, and sculptures represent a wealth of 20th-century art that incorporates tools and hardware by artists such as Berenice Abbott, Arman, Jim Dine, Walker Evans, Jacob Lawrence, Fernand Léger, and Claes Oldenburg, among many others. The Hechinger Collection promotes the exploration of how hardware stores have served American society and how the cultural and societal needs of American communities have shaped hardware stores.

PG-271656-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsSpartanburg County Public LibrarySpartanburg Co. Public Libraries, Emancipation Parade Flag conservation and purchase of environmental monitoring equipment.9/1/2020 - 6/30/2021$4,911.00N. Harrison Gage   Spartanburg County Public LibrarySpartanburgSC29306-3241USA2020African American HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access491104711.90

The purchase of environmental monitoring equipment, as recommended in a previous Preservation Assistance Grant and the conservation treatment of a flag created in 1865 for an Emancipation parade . The Spartanburg County Public Library special collections hold 40,000 drawings and prints from several Southern textile firms from the 1880s to the 1950s, as well as African American photograph collections from civil rights era protests. The fourteen data loggers requested would enable the monitoring of temperature and relative humidity for the entire archival collection.

Grant funds will be used for the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment for the entire archival collection and to hire a textile specialist to apply conservation treatments to an Emancipation parade flag created in 1865. This hand-sewn flag was created by a newly freed African American woman in Spartanburg, South Carolina during the enforcement of emancipation by Union Soldiers at the end of the civil war, shortly after the Confederacy dissolved. Spartanburg County Public Libraries is dedicated to preserving the full history of Spartanburg County, with an emphasis on prioritizing preservation efforts for our collections that focus on our under-represented communities which directly addresses the call for “A More Perfect Union” initiative.

PG-271671-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsSmoki MuseumPreservation Assessment9/1/2020 - 6/30/2021$8,194.00Cynthia Gresser   Smoki MuseumPrescottAZ86301-3184USA2020Native American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access8194081940

A preservation assessment and development of a disaster plan to ensure the preservation of a collection of historical and cultural objects associated with the Smoki People, a non-Native group from Arizona who appropriated Native American art and culture from the 1920s to the 1990s, especially through ceremony re-enactment. The collection is made up of objects representing Native American groups from the Southwest (textiles, ceramics, jewelry, baskets, kachinas, and artwork), approximately 10,000 documents, 15,000 photographic prints and negatives, and 800 cellulose nitrate reels of public performances from the 1930s. While the group is now defunct, the museum preserves objects, photographs, audiovisual recordings, and ephemera, which are used by scholars and the public to explore the controversial past of the Smoki People.

The Smoki Museum seeks $8194 to cover travels costs and fees to contract preservation specialist Randy Silverman to assess the museum's collections and collection housing.

PG-271672-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsJohns Hopkins UniversityImproving Storage of Evergreen Museum and Library's Works on Paper Collection9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00Lori Finkelstein   Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMD21218-2608USA2020Interdisciplinary Studies, OtherPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A preservation assessment and purchase of storage furniture and supplies for a collection of 906 works of art on paper in the collection of the Evergreen Museum. The historic house museum interprets two generations of the Garrett family, who lived in the building from 1876 to 1952 and were noted Baltimore philanthropists and collectors of fine and decorative art. The print collection includes a number of engravings after Peter Paul Rubens and works by modern masters such as Leon Bakst, Raoul Dufy, Edgar Degas, and Amedeo Modigliani.

This project will improve the preventive conservation efforts of Evergreen Museum & Library located in Baltimore, Md. The historic house museum, once home to two generations of Maryland's Garrett Family, seeks to improve storage of its works on paper collection, which consists of approximately 900 items by artists dating to the late-19th through mid-20th centuries, including artists Bakst, Modigliani, Dufy, Rodin, and Zuloaga, among others. If awarded, NEH funding would support an overall condition assessment of the collection by a paper conservator, and purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies to implement conservator re-housing recommendations.

PG-271673-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsLaurel Historical Society, Inc.Laurel Historical Society Emergency Preparedness Plan9/1/2020 - 7/31/2021$6,000.00Ann Bennett   Laurel Historical Society, Inc.LaurelMD20707-3429USA2020History, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access600005983.630

The creation of a disaster management plan and the purchase of disaster supplies to help preserve a collection of historical objects, photographs, and newspapers that document life and culture in rural Maryland, in an area situated between Baltimore and Washington, DC, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The disaster management plan was recommended as part of a recent assessment. The collections are used for research, education, and public programming.

The Laurel Historical Society seeks funds to establish an emergency preparedness plan. The proposed project would allow for the creation of a Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Plan written by an emergency management professional and also the purchase of supplies for disaster mitigation and emergency preparedness. The Laurel Historical Society does not have an emergency management plan. The Laurel Historical Society is located inside a 180-year-old former millworkers’ house and the lower edge of the property is adjacent to the Patuxent River. While the Society has not suffered major damage from age-related issues or natural disasters, we simply are not prepared to respond to a disaster that would affect our community collections. The proposed project would result in a disaster management plan representing best practices for emergency preparedness and response. The purchase of emergency supplies would allow us to mitigate damage to the collection from disasters.

PG-271678-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsOur Lady of the Lake University of San AntonioPreservation of OLLU special collections on the Spanish colonial and Mexican American heritage of San Antonio and Texas9/1/2020 - 2/28/2022$9,915.00Jason Bourgeois   Our Lady of the Lake University of San AntonioSan AntonioTX78207-4689USA2020Hispanic American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access991509914.720

A preservation assessment and workshop on best practices for the care and handling of rare books, archival materials, and digitized special collections, as well as the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment and preservation supplies to rehouse materials in three collecting units.  The Center for Mexican American Studies and Research holds 300 linear feet of archival materials, including microfilm documenting the five colonial Spanish missions of San Antonio. In addition, the Sueltenfuss Library has more than 100 rare books on Texas history, as well as rare serials and ephemera.  The University Archives holds 700 linear feet documenting the school’s history since its founding in 1895 by the Sisters of Divine Providence.  The assessment of the storage environment for these materials would provide a road-map for their long-term preservation, thereby ensuring their ongoing research and educational use.

This project will support a preservation assessment of special collections materials on the Spanish colonial and Mexican American heritage and history of San Antonio and surrounding areas throughout the past three centuries. These collections include the Center for Mexican American Studies and Research special collections, the Sueltenfuss Library special collections, and the University Archives. Among the highlights of these collections are the only preservation copies in the U.S. of 18th century archival documents of San Antonio’s Spanish missions, which have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our Lady of the Lake University has a global responsibility to protect this cultural heritage by ensuring the preservation, promotion, and use of these collections by the community, faculty, students, and national and international researchers.

PG-271689-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsRegents of the University of New MexicoEmergency Preparedness Preservation Supplies for Collections of the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$9,363.00LaurenElizabethFuka   Regents of the University of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNM87131-0001USA2020ArchaeologyPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9363093630

The purchase of preservation supplies for the development of emergency preparedness carts for the museum, which cares for archaeological, ethnographic, and osteological collections, as well as archives documenting cultures of the American Southwest. The purchase of emergency supplies follows recommendations from recent assessments and would enable museum staff to respond to fires, leaks, and other incidents, and to protect the collections from damage.

This proposal requests support to acquire preservation supplies to assist with emergency preparedness, which will enable museum staff to respond to leaks, floods, and other incidents quickly, and to protect the valuable collections and records from damage. For the Maxwell Museum, water has been a long-term issue throughout most of the below-ground collection storage areas. In the event of a museum emergency staff need to be able to respond rapidly if collections are threatened. The Maxwell Museum curates irreplaceable archaeological, ethnographic, osteological, and archival collections that constitute a critical resource for humanities scholarship on the indigenous people of the American Southwest. Our collections support teaching, research, and public engagement on the global human story from 2 million years ago until the present. Here, we request funding to purchase materials that will improve our ability to preserve and protect these collections in the event of an emergency.

PG-271695-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsChicago Film Archives, NFPRefrigeration for at-risk films9/1/2020 - 12/31/2020$10,000.00Yasmin Desouki   Chicago Film Archives, NFPChicagoIL60616-1120USA2020Media StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

The purchase of a storage freezer for nitrate films and a refrigerator for films suffering from vinegar syndrome. The Chicago Film Archives holds over 160 collections and more than 30,000 film items documenting the Midwest, including documentaries; avant-garde and experimental films; industrial, corporate and advertising films; educational films; and home movies. This project would support some of the most fragile audiovisual assets, including rare nitrate prints of 1929 news films from the Chicago Daily News Television Service, Mayor Edward J. Kelly, the 1933 World’s Fair, dancer Ruth Page, the original Hiawatha pageant performed by an Ojibwa community in Ontario, Canada, and a 1921 film about damage to a cathedral in Rheims, France, sustained during World War I.

CFA would like to purchase a refrigerator/freezer tor for nitrate films from its collections and a refrigerator for films that have vinegar syndrome.

PG-271696-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsFriends of the Knox County Public LibraryPurchase of Audio and Film Preservation Supplies for the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound Film Collection9/1/2020 - 6/30/2021$10,000.00Eric Dawson   Friends of the Knox County Public LibraryKnoxvilleTN37902-2505USA2020Public HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access10000061150

The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse audiovisual materials in the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound at the Calvin C. McClung Historical Collection in Knoxville. The collection contains more than 10,000 reels of film and videotapes of documentaries, feature films, commercials, home movies, and news film relating to East Tennessee and the Southern Appalachian region from 1915 to 2000. In addition, an audio collection of over 700 unique acetate and transcription discs document the region’s musicians and radio history from the 1940s through the 1960s. Among the sub-collections that would be the focus of this project are silent home movies filmed by American soldier Alex T. Langston in France and Germany during the days following the end of World War II, home movies and travelogues by Tennessee Valley Authority employee and photographer Paul Moore, demo recordings by local country music and jazz musicians, and films produced by the Tennessee School for The Deaf.

The purchase of archival film cans, film cores, molecular sieves, record envelopes, and boxes for the preservation of many of TAMIS's most in-peril collections.

PG-271697-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsFlorida State UniversityAssessment of The Ringling Archives Audiovisuals and Storage Vault.9/1/2020 - 2/28/2022$9,629.00Steven High   Florida State UniversityTallahasseeFL32306-0001USA2020Interdisciplinary Studies, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9629082110

A preservation assessment of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s audiovisual storage area. The audiovisual collection documents the history, organization, and programs of the Museum and the life of John and Mable Ringling, as well as the history of the circus, Wild West shows, and other arts entertainment. Highlights of the collection include two 1926 films shot at the Ringling house and museum and the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus lot; candid footage of performers and animals preparing for circus performances; side show and banner line scenes featuring marvels such as the bearded lady and strong man; and the King Charles troupe, who were the first African American performers with the Circus.

Assessment of The Ringling Archives Audiovisual collection and storage vault, which will a formalized report that will include onsite observations, a preservation plan for the collection, the anticipated cost for implementing the plan and supporting documentation.

PG-271700-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsNew Deal Homestead MuseumArthurdale Archives Preservation Plan9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$5,000.00Meredith Dreistadt   New Deal Homestead MuseumArthurdaleWV26520-1113USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access500004483.890

The purchase of preservation supplies necessary to implement recommendations offered in an assessment completed in 2018, supported by a previous Preservation Assistance Grant. Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. is dedicated to public outreach, education, and documenting the legacy of Arthurdale, a subsistence homestead community created in the early years of the New Deal. Its archives include letters from Eleanor Roosevelt, encouraging the community’s activities, as well as documentation regarding the establishment of the coal mining industry in the area, which is actively consulted by environmental historians.

Arthurdale Heritage Inc.’s overarching goal is to best serve the community and visitors by preserving the life and quality of the collections entrusted to the organization, as outlined in AHI’s mission. With the funds from the NEH, AHI will purchase storage containers, environment control-methods, and object-specific care to preserve our unique collection.

PG-271704-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsAppalachian Mountain ClubHistory in Those Hills: Upgrading Storage for the Appalachian Mountain Club's Historic Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Archives9/1/2020 - 9/30/2021$7,300.00RebeccaMaxwellFullerton   Appalachian Mountain ClubBostonMA02129-3740USA2020History, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access7300073000

The purchase of high-density shelving that would store 224 cubic feet of records within the club’s library and archives, thereby completing the organization’s installation of compact shelving and eliminating the need for temporary and offsite storage. The collection, which documents the history of outdoor recreation in the Northeast from the 1870s to the present, informs both internal and external research and publications. Highlights include 100 years of log books; 20,000 images of travel, people, landscapes, and events in this outdoor community; and diaries, scrapbooks, and maps of club excursions. This project builds on a preservation assessment from 2010.

The project will focus on the Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC’s) Library & Archives Special Collections and Institutional Records. These materials range from outdoor photography from the 1870s onward, manuscript collections of outdoorspeople of the 19th through the 21st centuries, and complete business records of America’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization. Our primary and secondary source materials document over 140 years of the wilderness experience in the United States through the lens of history, writing, visual arts and culture. Our specific goal within this project is to complete an upgrade to our storage facilities to meet modern standards of preservation by incorporating high-density shelving. The project is a culmination of improvements following a move of our Library & Archives from our organization’s headquarters in Boston at the end of 2018 to the heart of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

PG-271705-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsRegents of the University of Colorado, BoulderThe Yellow Jacket Archive: Preservation Planning and Rehousing9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$15,000.00SamanthaGallagherFladd   Regents of the University of Colorado, BoulderBoulderCO80303-1058USA2020ArchaeologyPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access150000150000

Hiring an archivist to assist the museum in planning for the preservation of and access to archaeological documentation associated with the Yellow Jacket site, part of the Mesa Verde cultural complex located in southwestern Colorado. The site was excavated from 1954-1991 and yielded 300,000 artifacts and 28 linear feet of field notes, maps, plans, and photographs. The museum’s anthropology and archaeology collections are used by academic researchers, teachers and students, and by Native American tribes and descendant communities. The request is in response to “A More Perfect Union,” and would be used to plan for improved access to collections that document the history of cultures in the American. Southwest.

The proposed project requests funding to employ an archivist to develop and implement a processing plan for a collection of original field documentation and research from 21 seasons of archaeological excavations at the Yellow Jacket complex in Southwest Colorado. Over 300,000 artifacts were collected during the field seasons. This vast cultural legacy is underutilized however, due to the state of the associated archival material: papers are stored in binders without hierarchical arrangement and folders bear incomplete or misleading labels. The current storage of the collection is causing papers to slump, tear, or stick to the binders. This project would increase access to the collection by providing an arrangement that meets professional archival standards, improving storage conditions, and paving the way for digitization. These improvements will result in greater interest in the history of this important series of sites occupied by the Mesa Verde branch of Ancestral Puebloan culture.

PG-271716-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsAcademy of American PoetsAcademy of American Poets Archive9/1/2020 - 9/30/2021$10,000.00Jennifer Benka   Academy of American PoetsNew YorkNY10038-4610USA2020Literature, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A preservation assessment of the archives of the Academy of American Poets, founded in 1934 and with members in all 50 states. The assessment would enable the organization to prioritize collection care and access in advance of its 90th anniversary in 2024. The collection of over 500 linear feet dates from its establishment to the present and includes writings and correspondence of notable American poets, such as E. E. Cummings, Lucille Clifton, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, and Sylvia Plath, as well as issues of the organization’s magazine, American Poets, photographs of poets, and audio recordings of poetry readings.

The Academy of American Poets seeks $10,000 to support our hiring a consultant to assess our unique collection so we might ensure its preservation and prepare to make it available to the public.

PG-271721-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsUniversity of Northern ColoradoCondition assessment and toxic object identification for a collection of Native American artifacts.9/1/2020 - 12/31/2021$9,964.00AndrewTheodoreCreekmore   University of Northern ColoradoGreeleyCO80639-6900USA2020AnthropologyPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access996408896.170

The work of two consultants, one to undertake a preservation assessment of fragile objects, the other to test for toxic preservatives, in a collection of 3,000 objects, including pottery, basketry, leather goods, and stone tools, that document Native American cultures of the West and Southwest from 10,000 BCE to the twentieth century. The consultants would also offer workshops to faculty, students, museum staff, and community members on using x-ray fluorescence, conducting condition assessments, and safe handling of collections. The collections are used for academic research, in university classes, and for public programming.

The anthropology department at the UNC curates a collection of 3000 prehistoric and historic Native American artifacts including pottery, basketry, leather goods, and stone tools. These date from 10,000 B.C.E. to the 20th century, spanning important developments in Native American culture. The collection is used in undergraduate education and shared with the public through exhibitions. This project will support a consultant to assess the condition of fragile artifacts and recommend how to preserve them. A second specialist will conduct X-ray fluorescence testing to identify toxic preservatives, such as arsenic, that may have been applied to the organic artifacts in the past, and will seal objects that test positive for toxins to protect students and researchers from harmful exposure. Both consultants will be assisted by an undergraduate and graduate student, and offer public workshops in conjunction with their work to train others in their specialty.

PG-271725-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWashington State UniversityWashington State School for the Blind’s Donald Donaldson Museum and Archives Collections Care9/1/2020 - 7/31/2022$9,776.00Robert Schimelpfenig   Washington State UniversityPullmanWA99164-0001USA2020History, OtherPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9776097760

The purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies, as well as a training workshop for staff and volunteers in the care and handling of collections that document the history of the Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB).  Founded in 1886 as part of a larger organization, the WSSB established its independence in 1911 and continues to operate today as the region’s oldest school for blind and visually impaired youth.  Building on an existing partnership between the Washington State University Vancouver Library and WSSB, the project would help staff and student volunteers from both schools to care for the unique collections, which include over 400 objects, such as older recording technology and braille machines, as well as 230 linear feet of braille maps and books, school records, memorabilia, slides, and photographs.  WSSB faculty plan to integrate the materials into their curriculum, and the preservation workshop would be open to the staff of neighboring historical organizations.

The Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) Museum and Archives documents a history of the school and its students. These histories are encapsulated through a series of print and braille collections, scrapbooks, photographs and an assortment of bygone technologies and mediums that have aided in the learning of the visually impaired from the time the school was established 130 years ago. With limited staff and no formal archival foundation, these collections have remained inaccessible. Following a 2019 preservation pre-assessment, WSSB with the help of the WSUV Library have drafted policies and procedures, recruited volunteers and secured funding for one part-time archives position. To further this project, we propose hosting preservation training workshops and purchasing storage supplies to help implement preservation standards and support employees as they begin the first phase of managing collections.

PG-271727-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsEiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Inc.Detailed Condition Survey of 48 Great Lakes American Indian Textiles from the Eiteljorg Museum's Great Lakes Collection9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$9,913.00Rebekah Ryan   Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Inc.IndianapolisIN46204-2707USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9913099130

A conservation assessment of 48 Great Lakes American Indian textiles recently acquired from the collection of Richard Pohrt Jr., dating from the 1800s to the present. Included in the collection are rare objects, such as blankets made of wool and silk ornamented with ribbon-work that is appliqued, and finger-woven fiber bags with depictions of cosmological figures important to the Great Lakes tribes, which include the Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Omaha, and Choctaw, among many others. The textiles are made available for research to the originating tribes as well as to scholars and are also used in exhibitions and educational programming.

This is an item-by-item condition survey, a conservation priority identified in the museum’s long-range conservation plan. Starting in June of 2021, Beth Szuhay, a highly-trained and experienced conservator, will work with an intern assistant with a background in collections care to spend 6 days systematically surveying the collection. The conservator and apprentice will do the following for each object: provide a detailed condition assessment, assign the item a condition ranking, make recommendations about an ideal exhibition parameters and preservation storage formats, and when deemed necessary, prepare a treatment proposal for immediate stabilization. These items will be included in a report, which will direct all future conservation treatments, as well as storage and exhibition decisions. This information will be input by staff into The Museum System (TMS) conservation module.

PG-271734-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsHeurich House MuseumDeveloping a Heritage Reinvestment Assessment Model9/1/2020 - 6/30/2021$2,625.00AllisonAnneLaCroix   Heurich House MuseumWashingtonDC20036-1531USA2020American StudiesPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access2625026250

The development of a model for a Heritage Building Reinvestment Assessment, using an established planning and accounting method for commercial buildings known as an Asset Lifecycle Model for Total Cost of Ownership Management. The project would enable an architect or building engineer to estimate the long-term cost needed to keep a cultural heritage building in an acceptable state. This approach to preserving historic sites adds a critical financial planning tool to more traditional building assessments, and the applicant would share its results with the public. The collection of the Heurich House Museum, one of the most intact historic homes in Washington, DC, contains 2,000 artifacts: furniture, nearly 30 Oriental and Persian rugs, numerous sculptures and vases, 200 textiles, and more than 1,000 objects related to the owner’s historic brewery. The archives hold more than 600 items that include letters, journals and diaries, expense ledgers, and more than 1,000 photographs.

The Heurich House Museum requests a $2,625 Preservation Assistance Grant, which it will use together with $2,700 in cost sharing from a National Trust for Historic Preservation grant award, to hire architect/engineer Michael Henry to develop a “model” for undertaking a Heritage Building Reinvestment Assessment. The model, which will serve as a blueprint for an architect or building engineer to perform a lifecycle cost analysis on a historic property, will provide the methodology, scope of work, and prototype templates. The Museum will provide the completed model to an architect or engineer so it can serve as their template to undertake an Assessment of our historic buildings and grounds. We will also disseminate the model to scholars and other historic sites that may want to undertake an Assessment.

PG-271743-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsMcAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center CorporationPreservation Assistance for McAuliffe-Shepard Special Collections9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00Mirka Zapletal   McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center CorporationConcordNH03301-7400USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A preservation assessment for the archives of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, which serves as a living memorial to the first American in space, Alan Shepard, and the teacher who died in the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, Christa McAuliffe. The archival collection consisting of 14,000 cubic feet of photographs, letters, scrapbooks, artworks, and other ephemera relates to the life and career of Shepard, the national outpouring of response to the Challenger disaster, and other stories of the space age. These materials are used by the center for research and exhibitions chronicling this era of science and engineering in American history, highlighting themes of discovery, pushing boundaries, tragedy, and resilience.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center will engage a conservation and preservation specialist from the Northeast Document Conservation Center to provide a general preservation assessment of our special collections. As their specialist has noted in her letter of commitment, this assessment will cover: “possible risks to collections from building- and environment-related problems; fire protection and security concerns, including emergency preparedness; institutional policies and procedures as they apply to preservation; recommendations for improving storage and handling practices; and the general condition of a representative sample of paper-based materials, media, and photographs from the collections.” The assessment will also identify preservation priorities for MSDC and provide references and tools to enable us to make the most of the resources we already possess, as well as those we will acquire in the future.

PG-271745-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsFlorida State College at JacksonvillePreservation and Access to Threatened Humanities (PATH)9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00ShannonLeighDew   Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonvilleFL32246-6624USA2020Interdisciplinary Studies, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

A preservation assessment and half-day workshop on collections preservation, handling, and storage best practices.  The award would also support the purchase of storage furniture to protect records that document several academic publication series produced by the college since its founding in 1968.  Among them are various literary magazines, such as Kalliope: A Journal of Women's Literature & Art, founded in 1978 and featuring writers such as Alice Walker, E.L. Konigsburg, Marge Piercy, and Elisavietta Ritchie, as well as two interview series, Writer to Writer and Worth Quoting, both of which ran for over a decade.  The collection includes the administrative files, letters, photographs, recordings, and publications for these journals and series.  Over the last few years, the college has begun to digitize and make the materials available for research online.  This grant would provide the applicant with a first-time assessment of their Archives and Special Collections unit to help staff establish preservation priorities and policies.

Provide the first step in archival planning and preservation activities for important humanities publications as well as hundreds of hours of original audio and video recordings by influential authors and public figures over the last three decades.

PG-271746-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsNoah Webster HousePlanning for enhanced educator access to digitized collections9/1/2020 - 3/31/2022$15,000.00Sheila Daley   Noah Webster HouseWest HartfordCT06107-3453USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access150000150000

The creation of a digitization plan for materials in the applicants’ collections, to enhance access for educators and students to support national, state, and local history, geography, and civics education related to the themes of the NEH initiative, “A More Perfect Union.” Proposed activities include holding focus groups with local teachers and curriculum specialists, evaluation of appropriateness for primary source kits or lesson plans, prioritization of materials for digitization, and digital reformatting of select test-bed materials for creation of teacher resources. Holdings available from the Noah Webster Collection comprise more than 200 original editions of Webster’s books and 25 original documents, including legal records, correspondence, and ephemera, dated 1778-1845. Object collections include approximately 400 items of town residents’ memorabilia and approximately 600 pieces of clothing and accessories, as well as pottery, archaeological artifacts, and such items as a slave’s headstone. Additionally, the historical society’s Butler Family Collection comprises six linear feet of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century correspondence, legal documents, land deeds, financial records, estate inventories for Revolutionary War soldiers, receipts, and ephemera.

The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is located in the birthplace and childhood home of Noah Webster, a nationally registered historic landmark. The museum offers award-winning programming to thousands of students and visitors each year, and holds manuscript and 3d object collections related to Noah Webster and to the local community spanning the 17th through the 21st century. We request funds for planning and pilot activities related to the NEH special initiative, "A More Perfect Union." We are seeking to consult with an historian and an archivist to undertake digitization planning and pilot work informed by input from local teachers and curriculum specialists, to support use of collections for primary source classroom instruction and in commemorative activities for the 2026 Anniversary of American independence.

PG-271750-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsJoan & Sanford I.Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityRehousing psychiatry collections at the Oskar Diethelm Library.9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$10,000.00GeorgeJ.Makari   Joan & Sanford I.Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityNew YorkNY10065-4805USA2020History of SciencePreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access1000009969.50

The purchase of preservation supplies to rehouse 612 feet of archival materials, which are part of the library’s 1,500 linear feet of archives documenting the history of psychiatry. Materials include the papers of influential figures, such as Thomas Salmon and Clifford and Clara Beers, as well as the records of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (1909-1966), which are consulted regularly by historians, especially around the topic of World War I veterans.  Other collections include items from mental health advocates, Dorothea Dix, Thomas Kirkbride, and Isaac Ray, as well as from Donald Winnicott, the British physician who was internationally recognized for his work in pediatric psychiatry and invented the term “transitional object” (e.g. blanket or teddy bear).  Rehousing the materials would be done in tandem with ongoing efforts to update the related finding aids, which would make the collections easier to discover by the many students, scholars, and physicians who conduct research at the library.

The project will support the preservation of historically significant materials from the processed collections at the Oskar Diethelm Library at Weill Cornell Medical College''s DeWitt Wallace Institute for the History of Psychiatry. The majority of the collections that have been described were processed over 30 years ago and primarily stored in cardboard boxes even after processing. Because of this, new boxes and folders are needed for the processed collections, which would be covered by the requested funds from this grant. The current boxes are mostly cardboard, not acid-free, and not properly filled, which has caused serious damage through bending and tearing of materials. In addition, the folders are either not acid-free or have deteriorated to the point of needing replacement. The grant would cover the purchase of acid-free boxes and folders to rehouse these collections.

PG-271757-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsHarriet Beecher Stowe CenterUpdating Manuscript Collection Housing Part II9/1/2020 - 12/31/2021$10,000.00ElizabethGiardBurgess   Harriet Beecher Stowe CenterHartfordCT06105-3243USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access100000100000

The purchase of preservation supplies as the second phase of rehousing the Stowe Center’s manuscript collections, following a 2019 Preservation Assistance Grant. Collections currently stored without folders and/or separated by enclosures would be rehoused, and those with damaged or unstable boxes replaced. Overall, the collections consist of 195,000 items dating from c. 1500 to the present and comprise forty-nine individual collections for a total of 316 linear feet. This stage of the project would focus on the Foote Collection, twenty-two boxes of Stowe’s maternal family manuscripts; the Katharine Seymour Day Collection, 166 boxes of the historic preservationist’s personal correspondence, notes, financial papers, family materials, and other documents; the 15 boxes of the Saturday Morning Club Collection, with meeting agendas, invitations, programs, minutes, and membership lists of the Hartford Women’s Literary Club; and 11 boxes of the papers of architect George Keller. Together, these collections illuminate such topics as the material culture and history of anti-slavery, the history of slavery in the United States, women’s roles, the history of stage and screen, and historic preservation in Hartford.

The project centers on the second part of rehousing the manuscript collection at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center; part one is also supported by a NEH preservation grant. The project follows protocols laid out by the Northeast Document Conservation Center conservators. The rehousing process consists of purchasing new chemically stable archival preservation supplies and transferring the collection items to these new containers.

PG-271759-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWashington County Museum of Fine ArtsReplacement and Reconfiguration of Housing Furniture in Painting and Paper Vault9/1/2020 - 12/31/2021$9,755.00Kay Palmateer   Washington County Museum of Fine ArtsHagerstownMD21740-6495USA2020Arts, GeneralPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9755097550

The purchase of preservation supplies and furniture to improve the storage conditions in the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts’ Painting and Paper Vault (PPV), replacing poorly constructed cabinets with quality shelving and other materials for unframed works and objects and adding storage to underutilized areas. These measures would ensure that each object has adequate space to avoid potential damage, as well as allow for greater access and movement in the vault. The collection of over 6,800 objects includes American and European paintings, works on paper, textiles, glass, and sculptures. The project is based on several preceding assessments and aligns with the museum’s goal of ensuring the long term care of its collections.

Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is working to improve the storage conditions in its Painting and Paper Vault, focusing on preventive conservation of works on paper as well as other collection materials. This project will replace poorly constructed cabinets that are not configured for the Museum’s collections, add additional shelving units to house boxes containing unframed works on paper, add a bin unit to store larger framed works on paper, and reconfigure existing shelving to expand storage for larger boxes. Preventive conservation strategies include ensuring that each object has enough space so as not to be mechanically damaged in situ; is not chemically damaged by poor quality storage materials including rusting shelving, unsealed plywood, and unknown paints; and can be removed from storage without risk of damage.

PG-271776-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsAlice Austen House MuseumImproving Storage Capacity for Collections Preservation9/1/2020 - 8/31/2021$9,145.00Victoria Munro   Alice Austen House MuseumStaten IslandNY10305-2002USA2020U.S. HistoryPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access9145091450

The purchase of equipment to improve climate control in the upstairs storage room, creation of additional space for storage, Preservation 101 training for staff provided by the Northeast Document Conservation Center, and implementation of inventory management practices identified in consultation with the Historic House Trust. The Alice Austen House holds a collection of objects, letters, photographs, and audio recordings related to the life and work of Alice Austen, part of the first generation of women photographers in America; Gertrude Tate, her partner of 53 years; and their friends and family. The collection consists of correspondence, objects, photographs, and oral history recordings: 15 archival boxes of letters, one binder of calling cards, household objects, photographs, and 25 cassette tapes of oral history recordings. These offer a unique window into Victorian social norms, New York City history, LGBTQ history, and early twentieth-century life.

Friends of Alice Austen House requests funding to support improvements to storage capacity in its second floor collections room in order to house more objects, prioritizing accessioned items found in the inventory of our basement collections room. To ensure that collections best practices are in effect as the project is implemented and after, this proposal includes training in preservation basics for the Alice Austen House Collections Associate.

PG-271779-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsWayne State UniversityAssessing Preservation and Storage of the Detroit Archaeological Collections at Wayne State9/1/2020 - 3/30/2022$14,682.00MeganMarieMcCullen   Wayne State UniversityDetroitMI48201-1347USA2020AnthropologyPreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access146820146820

A preservation assessment and planning project to improve access to the museum’s archaeological collections that document the history of Detroit from the Revolutionary War era through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collections illustrate the military, social and economic history of the region and the transition of Detroit from a fur-trading center to a state capital. Materials from Fort Lernoult would be used by the museum as part of its preparation for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, in response to the grant program’s encouragement associated with “A More Perfect Union.”

This project evaluates the preservation and accessibility of Detroit Archaeological Collections (DAC) at Wayne State University’s Museum of Anthropology, as part of the NEH program A More Perfect Union. These collections highlight the development of Detroit and we will improve access to these collections for use within our University and Museum, and for our community partners. Our museum houses the bulk of archaeological materials excavated within Detroit, and includes major collections from the British (1760-1796) and American (1796-present) periods of the city, with more limited materials from earlier French and Indigenous periods. These collections reflect a shift from a small fur trade community into a thriving agricultural region, and then an industrial metropolis. Of particular significance as we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution are the well preserved architectural materials from Fort Lernoult, built by the British in Detroit in 1779.

PG-271780-20Preservation and Access: Preservation Assistance GrantsMissouri Botanical GardenMissouri Botanical Garden Archives: Addressing Light Issues9/1/2020 - 1/31/2021$4,860.00Andrew Colligan   Missouri Botanical GardenSt. LouisMO63110-3420USA2020History of SciencePreservation Assistance GrantsPreservation and Access4860048600

The installation of ultraviolet light-filtering window film to protect over 3,000 linear feet of material in the botanical garden’s archives. This preservation measure was recommended in a 2014 assessment. Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest natural history institutions in the country. Its archives, which are consulted for internal and external exhibits and publications, document the history of the garden and also include related collections, such as the papers of Henry Shaw, a prominent local businessman who founded the botanical garden, and the papers of George Engelmann, which include correspondence with leading scientific thinkers of the nineteenth century and some of the earliest attempts to document the flora and fauna of the western frontier.

At MBG we are dedicated to preserving our archival materials and passing them on in good condition to future generations, and in furtherance of that goal we want to provide them with the best possible environmental conditions. Deficiencies in the current archives facility have begun to threaten the sustainability of the archive, in particular harmful UV sunlight that enters from unfiltered windows that make up one of the walls in the space. We seek funds to hire an outside vendor to treat these west facing windows of the archive with UV filter film to improve archival conditions and ensure the long term protection of the collections.