• Program Description • Award Information • Eligibility • How to Prepare an Application • How to Submit an Application • Application Review • Award Administration • Points of Contact • Other Information • DUNS Number Requirement • Definitions of types of funding • Registration Checklist • Download the current version of Adobe Reader • How to Convert Documents into PDFs • Tips for Creating PDF Files in Grants.gov Applications • Grants.gov FAQs • Grants.gov Customer Support To obtain a printed version of these guidelines, call 202-606-8446, send an e-mail to info@neh.gov, or write to NEH, Office of Public Affairs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506.

Date posted: February 1, 2008

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.164

Questions? Contact the staff of NEH's Division of Public Programs at 202-606-8269 and PublicPgms@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.

The Small Grants to Libraries program brings traveling exhibitions and other types of public programming to libraries across the country.

The traveling exhibition and tour are funded by a major grant from NEH to the Boston Public Library.

“John Adams Unbound” has been designated as part of the NEH’s We the People program, which supports projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and advance knowledge of the principles that define America.

“John Adams Unbound” is about Adams’s personal library itself—a collection of 3,500 books willed by Adams to the people of Massachusetts and deposited in the Boston Public Library in 1894. The exhibition shows Adams wrestling with intellectual and political ideas as he interacted with these books throughout his life. Adams set forth quite deliberately to educate himself by collecting books on an immense variety of subjects and by engaging the great thinkers, philosophers, and political minds of many times and places through their writings. His engagement was active and argumentative, as evidenced by the meticulous and voluminous personal commentary he crammed into the margins of the works he read. In the photo-reproductions of these annotated volumes in the traveling exhibition, the viewer encounters an intimate and candid conversation that engaged Adams at every stage of his long life—as a boy, university student, Boston lawyer, revolutionary, Founding Father, diplomat, President, and citizen of the early American republic.

This collection of books is most remarkable because it provides first-hand insight into how John Adams shaped American history and how he was shaped by his own moment in history through his lifelong dedication to reading and books. To read Adams’s notations is to listen in on his conversations with writers across oceans and across centuries. For example, when Adams was preparing in 1770 to defend the British soldiers on trial after the Boston Massacre, he referred (in Latin) to the views of the ancient Roman statesman, Marcus Tullius, on Cicero’s views on self defense in notations in the margins of a contemporary British volume on the laws of England. The stories behind his books are also fascinating. Adams’s copy of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, one of the most influential essays of the revolutionary era, was purchased in 1776 during his ride on horseback from his farm in Quincy, Massachusetts, to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. He was so impressed with Common Sense that he bought a copy to send to his wife, Abigail. Adams’s own copy of Common Sense is strikingly travel-worn, stained with food and drink, and dog-eared.

In the pages of John Adams’s library and the photo-reproductions of personal objects, graphics, maps, and portraits in the traveling exhibition, Adams is a tangible presence, along with his wife Abigail, his eldest son John Quincy Adams, and the rivals, friends, and partners of a complicated political lifetime. The traveling exhibition will give audiences the opportunity to explore Adams’s life and character, his enormous contributions to the founding of America, his vanities and sorrows, hopes and fears for the nation and his own life, and his high standards for study, work, and citizenship. It will examine his political passions, religious beliefs, and guiding philosophies, and show how they influenced a life of action in a young nation. The exhibition is also an extraordinary case study in the power of reading and self-education that reveals the role of books and libraries in the health and prosperity of a democracy.

One copy of the exhibition will travel to libraries from November 2008 to November 2012.

1. Fame. In this theme, the audience will encounter the enduring legacy of John Adams and experience Adams’s own assessment of his contributions to the new nation and his vehement defense of his reputation.
2. Fortune. This theme looks at Adams’s financial sacrifice to acquire his library and the value of that library, then and now.
3. Power. This section examines Adams’s political conviction that successful governments can be formed only when there is a balance of power among branches of government. Key observations on the structure of government are drawn from the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.
4. God. This section shows Adams conducting a remarkably wide-ranging and tolerant quest to explore many religions of the world.
5. Country. This theme shows Adams as a founder of a new nation, defining its borders, shaping its Constitution, negotiating with other nations, and becoming President.
6. Clients. This theme emphasizes Adams’s belief that the rule of law in a civil society must be immune to the clamors of public opinion; the focus is on Adams’s winning defense of the British soldiers tried for the Boston Massacre.
7. Fellow Men. This section focuses on the people closest to Adams, his family and intimate friends. Viewers will come to understand how these people were bound to John Adams by a shared love of books.

Exhibition Physical Details: The exhibition consists of six to seven separate, free-standing sections; each section is approximately 18 feet wide and 7½ feet high (108 - 126 running feet). Text and illustrations appear on only one side of the sections. The entire exhibition requires approximately 1,000 square feet of space for optimal display. Libraries that apply are strongly encouraged to make a computer station or stations available near the exhibition so that viewers can access Web sites with additional educational activities for all ages.

1. Sign an agreement with the American Library Association to fulfill exhibition hosting and display requirements.
2. Sponsor an opening event for the public.
3. Present a minimum of two programs featuring a lecture and discussion by a scholar in the humanities and focusing on exhibition themes (one of these programs may be combined with the opening event). These programs must be free and open to the public. Exhibition sites are encouraged to apply to state humanities councils for honoraria for lecturers and discussion leaders.
4. In the case of academic and special libraries, present at least one program that is open to and marketed to public audiences beyond the library’s customary user groups. Academic and special libraries are asked to contact the local public library to discuss possible collaborations on programming and publicity.
5. Demonstrate that they have sufficient space to display the exhibition (1,000 square feet in one area of the library or other display area is preferred), and that they can provide security for the exhibition, i.e., monitor the exhibition at least every half-hour during peak times and every hour at less busy times when the institution is open. A description of the exhibition space or floor plan should accompany the application.
6. Charge no fees for viewing the exhibition.
7. Provide required reports, including an exhibition condition report and a final report, to the American Library Association by the specified deadline. Sites that fail to provide a final report in a timely manner may forfeit opportunities to participate in future American Library Association-managed traveling exhibition projects.
8. Appoint one staff member as the local coordinator of the exhibition. The coordinator is required to attend an exhibition planning workshop, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, in Fall 2008 (date to be announced).

1. A $2,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for exhibition-related expenses, e.g., expenses for travel and accommodation for the exhibition planning workshop and and for exhibition programming.
2. The traveling exhibition for a six-week loan period (shipping costs included).
3. Exhibition brochures and posters.
4. Two banners that will travel to each site for display with the exhibition.
5. Educational support materials.
6. Insurance coverage for reasonable damages to the exhibition. Sites may be held responsible for extensive damages or loss of the exhibition when it is under their control. Some previous exhibition sites have put a rider on their insurance for the exhibition display period, although this is not required.
7. Both print and online Site Support Resources with press materials, art, shipping and installation instructions, suggestions for programming.
8. Technical and programming support from the ALA Public Programs Office throughout the tour, including participation in an online discussion list for tour sites.
9. Travel and accommodation expenses for exhibition coordinators to attend a planning workshop in Boston. Books from John Adams’s library and other objects pictured in the exhibition will be on display at the workshop; the traveling exhibition will also be displayed.

The Endowment currently sponsors one agency-wide program: We the People, and two special initiatives, Rediscovering Afghanistan, and the Digital Humanities Initiative. Below is information on each. The NEH encourages applications in these three special areas of interest. Proposals will be evaluated through NEH's established review process and will not receive special consideration.

We the People Grant Program

Rediscovering Afghanistan NEH invites applications for projects that focus on Afghanistan's history and culture. The special initiative is designed to promote research, education, and public programs about Afghanistan and to encourage United States institutions to assist Afghanistan in efforts to preserve and document its cultural resources. Learn more about the initiative.

Digital Humanities Initiative NEH is interested in receiving applications for projects that use or study the impact of digital technology. Digital technologies offer humanists new methods of conducting research, conceptualizing relationships, and presenting scholarship. Digital humanities projects deploy these technologies and methods to enhance our understanding of a topic or issue. NEH is also interested in projects that study the impact of digital technology on the humanities—exploring the ways in which it changes how we read, write, think, and learn. Learn more about the initiative.

Successful applicants will be awarded a grant in outright funds. Awards of $2,500 are normally made for a period of 24 months, but funds may be expended after that time period.

Cost sharing Cost sharing is not required.

(Learn more about different types of grant funding.)

Applications are invited from public, academic, and special libraries with IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

Individuals are not eligible to apply. NEH generally does not award grants to other federal entities or to applicants whose projects are so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity's own authorized activities. This does not preclude applicants from using grant funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in their projects.

REGISTER OR VERIFY REGISTRATION WITH GRANTS.GOV

Applications for this program must be submitted via Grants.gov. Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register there to create an institutional profile. Once registered, your organization can then apply for any government grant on the Grants.gov Web site.

If your organization has already registered and you have verified that your registration is still valid, you may skip this step. If not, please see our handy checklist to guide you through the registration process. We strongly recommend you complete or verify your registration at least two weeks prior to submitting the application, as it takes time for your registration to be processed. If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE ADOBE READER SOFTWARE To fill out a Grants.gov application package, you will need to download and install the current version of Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader, which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe Web site (www.adobe.com).

Once installed, the current version of Adobe Reader will allow you to view and fill out Grants.gov application packages for any federal agency. If you have a problem installing Adobe Reader, it may be because you do not have permission to install a new program on your computer. Many organizations have rules about installing new programs. If you encounter a problem, contact your system administrator.

You can save your application package at any time by clicking the "Save" button at the top of your screen. Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you may receive an error message indicating that your application is not valid if all of the forms have not been completed. Click "OK" to save your work and complete the package another time. You can also use e-mail to share the application package with members of your organization or project team.

The application package contains three forms that you must complete in order to submit your application:

1. Application for Federal Domestic Assistance - Short Organizational (SF-424 Short)—this form asks for basic information about the project, the project director, and the institution.
2. Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs—this form asks for additional information about the project director, the institution, and the budget.
3. NEH Attachment Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, budget, and the other parts of your application.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE SF-424 SHORT FORM Select the form from the menu and double click to open it. Please provide the following information:

1. Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically with “National Endowment for the Humanities."
2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically with the CFDA number and title of the NEH program to which you are applying.
3. Date Received: Please leave blank.
4. Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
5. Applicant Information: In this section, please supply the name, address, employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), DUNS number, Web site address, and congressional district of the institution. Also choose the "type" that best describes your institution (you only need to select one).
If your institution is located, for example, in the 5th Congressional District of your state, put a "5." If your institution doesn't have a congressional district (e.g. it is in a state or U.S. territory that doesn't have districts or is in a foreign country), put a "0" (zero). All institutions applying to federal grant programs are required to provide a DUNS number, issued by Dun & Bradstreet, as part of their application. Project directors should contact their institution’s grant administrator or chief financial officer to obtain their institution’s DUNS number. Federal grant applicants can obtain a DUNS number free of charge by calling 1-866-705-5711. (Learn more about the requirement.)
6. Project Information: Use the following as the title of your project: John Adams Unbound—A Traveling Exhibition to Libraries. Use the following description for your project under Project Description: “John Adams Unbound” is a traveling exhibition based upon a larger exhibition of the same name developed by the Boston Public Library. The exhibition uses the lens of John Adams’s personal library of 3,500 volumes—deposited in the Boston Public Library in 1894—to reveal and examine for a national audience how the intellectual content and the historical context of Adams’s reading reflected, shaped, and informed his world and revolutionary views. The story told in the exhibition is that of a great man committed to a lifelong scholarly humanistic endeavor that profoundly influenced his beliefs and actions. The exhibition travels to 20 public and academic libraries; a planning seminar for librarians and related educational materials support the tour.
7. Project Director: Provide the Social Security Number, name, title, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers for the project director. Disclosure of Social Security Numbers is optional. NEH uses them for internal application processing only.
8. Primary Contact/Grants Administrator: Provide the contact information for the official responsible for the administration of the grant (e.g., negotiating the project budget and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the award). This person is often a grants or research officer, or a sponsored programs official. Normally, the Institutional Grants Administrator is not the same person as the Project Director. If the project director and the grant administrator are the same person, skip to item 9.
9. Authorized Representative: Provide the contact information for the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) who is submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person, often called an "Authorizing Official," is typically the president, vice president, executive director, provost, or chancellor. In order to become an AOR, the person must be designated by the institution's E-Business Point of Contact. For more information, please consult the Grants.gov user guide, which is available at: http://www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp.

1. Project Director: Select H3: Library Science as the major field of study for the project director.
2. Institution Information: Use the pull-down menu to select your type of institution.
3. Project Funding: Enter $2,500.
4. Application Information: Indicate that the proposal will not be submitted to other NEH grant programs, government agencies, or private entities for funding. For Type of Application, check "new." For Project Field Code, select A3: American History.

You will prepare your application for submission via Grants.gov just as you would a paper application. Your application should consist of the following parts:

Narrative description:

The narrative should not exceed 5-7 pages single-spaced with one-inch margins and should be in at least 11-point font. Repeat the number and first sentence of each item below. It should contain the following information, in this order:

1. Why would your institution like to display “John Adams Unbound”? Please describe unique collections and local resources and interests related to the exhibition.
2. What local partners will help you to support the exhibition and what will their roles be? Support letters from partners strengthen your application.
3. Libraries must commit themselves to at least two public programs led by a humanities scholar and based upon the exhibition themes. Please describe your plans for programs and include information about possible scholars and their credentials (resumes are not required). Beyond that, what other ideas do you have for programs related to the exhibition themes? Letters of intent from scholars or other program presenters are encouraged. Institutions chosen for past exhibitions have proposed an average of five or more public programs.
4. Describe the audience you will target and how you will publicize the exhibition to that audience. If your institution is an academic or special library, describe how you will ensure that the public beyond your own user community will see the exhibition and attend at least one humanities program (saying only that the public will be invited to all programs is not sufficient for academic and special libraries). Academic and special libraries should provide in their applications a letter from a local public library offering program and promotional support.
5. Describe the space your institution has available for exhibitions or provide a floor plan. This exhibition will require 1,000 square feet of space or about 125 running feet if placed along a wall.
6. Can your library provide a computer station near the exhibition for access to Web sites with interactive educational materials? If not, can you provide any other type of computer access?
7. What is the scope of your current (i.e., within the past year) adult cultural programming, including type and frequency (e.g., book discussion weekly, annual fall lecture series on local history).
8. Has your library participated in (in last five years), or is it scheduled to participate in any other program sponsored by the ALA Public Programs Office? If so, please tell us which programs.
9. Are there any dates between November 2008 and November 2012 that you would prefer to display the exhibition, or cannot display the exhibition? Selected sites will have the exhibition for six weeks. Requests will be considered, but REQUESTED DATES CANNOT BE GUARANTEED. Sites that have the exhibition near major holidays will have an eight-week display period.
10. Include the institution's ALA membership number if applicable and the library director's name (if not the same as the project director). Is the Library Director aware of this application and committed to supporting its implementation? Yes or no.

HOW TO USE THE NEH ATTACHMENT FORM

You will use this form to attach the file that makes up your application.

Your attachments must be in Portable Document Format (.pdf). We cannot accept attachments in their original word processing or spreadsheet formats. If you don't already have software to convert your files into PDFs, there are many low-cost and free software packages available. To learn more, go to http://www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html.

When you open the NEH Attachment Form, you will find 15 attachment buttons, labeled "Attachment 1" through "Attachment 15." By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order so that we can identify them. Please attach the proper file to the proper button as listed below:

ATTACHMENT 1: To this button, please attach your narrative. Please name the file "narrative.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach any supplementary materials. Please name the file "supplementary.pdf".

ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your letters of commitment. Please name the file "lettersofcommitment.pdf".

UPLOADING YOUR APPLICATION TO GRANTS.GOV
When you have completed all three forms, use the right-facing arrow to move each of them to the "Mandatory Documents for Submission" column. Once they have been moved over, the "Submit" button will activate. You are now ready to upload your application package to Grants.gov.

During the registration process, your institution designated one or more AORs (Authorized Organization Representatives). These AORs typically work in your institution's Sponsored Research Office or Grants Office. When you have completed your application, you must ask your AOR to submit the application, using the special username and password that was assigned to him or her during the registration process.

To submit your application, your computer must have an active connection to the Internet. To begin the submission process, click the "submit" button. A page will appear asking you to sign and submit your application. At this point, your AOR will enter his or her username and password. When you click the "sign and submit application" button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov. Please note that it may take some time to upload your application package depending on the size of your files and the speed of your Internet connection.

After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a tracking number, will appear indicating that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. The AOR will also receive a confirmation e-mail.

NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. That way, should you encounter a technical problem of some kind, you will still have time to contact the Grants.gov help desk for support. The Grants.gov help desk is open Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-518-4726. You can also send an e-mail to support@grants.gov.

DEADLINES
Applications must be received by Grants.gov by April 4, 2008. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded.

The application submitted to Grants.gov must contain all the required elements. No material missing from the Grants.gov submission may be submitted in hard copy after the deadline.

1. Excellent ideas and plans for public programs, including an agreement that at least two programs for adults will feature a lecture and discussion by a qualified scholar on exhibition themes. Applications from institutions previously selected for traveling exhibitions have included ideas for five or more programs.
2. Available and appropriate exhibition space and ability to provide security for the exhibition.
3. Location of the sites. The selection committee would like the exhibition to visit all regions of the country.
4. Size and demographics of the community. The selection committee seeks a mix of communities of different size and varied demographics.
5. Evidence that the site has the support of community groups and other organizations in planning for the exhibition. Support letters from partner organizations and potential speakers who describe specific ideas and support for the exhibition help to strengthen applications. Selectors welcome programming collaborations among academic, public, and special libraries in a community. However, sending the exhibition to more than one venue in a community during the six-week exhibition period is not encouraged.
6. Evidence of the site’s ability to reach target audiences and market the exhibition and related programs effectively. For academic and special libraries, examples of contact with the local public library and of programs that have reached public audiences successfully are helpful.
7. Commitment of the library for the staff time required for a successful display of the exhibition in the community and development of related programming.

Review and Selection Process

Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. The Endowment’s staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.

Award notices

Applicants will be notified of the decision by e-mail in August 2008. Institutional grant administrators and projects directors of successful applications will receive award documents by mail from the National Endowment for the Humanities in September 2008. Applicants may obtain the reasons for funding decisions on their applications by sending a letter or e-mail to NEH, Division of Public Programs, Room 426, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20506 or PublicPgms@neh.gov.

Administrative requirements

Before submitting an application, applicants should review their responsibilities as an award recipient and the lobbying certification requirement.

Award conditions

The requirements for awards are contained in the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations, any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document, and the applicable OMB circulars governing federal grants management.

Reporting requirements An exhibition condition report and a final narrative report must be submitted to the Boston Public Library and the American Library Association by the specified deadline.

Applicants are encouraged to address questions about the selection guidelines, process, and
requirements to the Public Programs Office, American Library Association, phone (312) 280-5045,
fax (312) 280-5759, or e-mail PublicPrograms@ala.org.

If you have questions about the program, contact: Division of Public Programs
National Endowment for the Humanities
Room 426
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20506
202-606-8269
PublicPgms@neh.gov

If you need help using Grants.gov, contact: Grants.gov: www.grants.gov
Grants.gov help desk: support@grants.gov
Grants.gov customer support tutorials and manuals: www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_help.jsp
Grant.gov support line: 1-800-518-GRANTS (4726)

Privacy Policy Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.

Application Completion Time The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates the average time to complete this application is three hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application. Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Director of the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.