neh preservation grants at kalamazoo college michigan archival association annual meeting stacy...
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NEH Preservation Grants at Kalamazoo College
Michigan Archival Association Annual MeetingStacy Nowicki, Ph.D., J.D.
June 20, 2013
About Kalamazoo College
The Kalamazoo College Archives
Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions
Grant Application
• Narrative (5 pages)• Staff résumés• Budget (1 page)
• Samples on the NEH website!
Grant Application: Narrative Questions
• What activities would the grant support? • What are the content and size of the collections? • How are the collections used? • What is the nature and mission of your institution?• Has your institution ever had a preservation or
conservation assessment? • What is the importance of this project to the
institution?
NEH Grant #1: Preservation Assessment
• Asked for an expert to assess our collection – Eric Alstrom, MSU
• Outcome: Assessment Report
NEH Grant #2: Filling Recommendations
• Purchase preservation supplies
• Focus on scrapbooks, blueprints
The old way
The new way
NEH Grant #3: Filling Recommendations (Again)
• Focus on A/V materials
NEH Grant #4: Filling Recommendations (Yet again)
• Narrowed focus to Images
Tip #1: Make your collection nationally significant
Your collection is a microcosm of national history
• Daily life in a growing Midwest town
• Experience of small liberal arts college life
Tip#2: Tell a story
• NO: “Pictures of students and faculty”
• YES: “These images record the social history of the College, including athletic events, social events, buildings, and campus life from the 1950’s to the 1990’s.”
Tip #3: Answer “so what?”
NO: “This grant will improve preservation and access”
YES: • We will improve our knowledge of our collection
and therefore give better service• Better storage makes collections more
accessible and therefore more used• Our materials will last for the long term
Tip #4: Don’t reinvent the wheel
NEH website includes:• Narratives of funded
projects• Sample budget
Ask funded institutions for their applications
