Preservation and Access Research and Development Projects

Listed below are descriptions of sample projects representing the types of grants given by NEH's Division of Preservation and Access. Please scroll down to find examples that apply to the category that interest you.

Preservation of and access to humanities collections in libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations

Preservation Microfilming of Brittle Books and Serials

The University of Florida is microfilming and cataloging 8,600 volumes of American and British children's literature published from 1850 to 1869. Color images from 1400 volumes will be digitized and combined with black-and-white text images scanned from microfilm. The project will contribute cataloging records to OCLC and RLIN, with links to the images on the project's website. Users can order microfilmed copies of the books through interlibrary loan or purchase microfilm copies at cost.

The United States Newspaper Program

The State Historical Society of North Dakota cataloged 1,722 newspaper titles and microfilmed 3.3 million pages of deteriorating newsprint as part of its participation in the United States Newspaper Program. A listing of newspaper titles and holdings is available on the Society's website. Titles can also be located through national bibliographic utilities and copies of microfilmed newspapers obtained through interlibrary loan.

The University of Alaska in Fairbanks is preserving and cataloging 132 reels consisting of 56,600 feet of film documenting Alaska native peoples, activities, and settings from 1927 to 1965. Information about the individuals and activities depicted on film will be obtained from Alaska natives and incorporated into catalog records for entry into local and national bibliographic databases. Encoded finding aids will also be available on the archives's website.

The American Institute of Physics created a subject-based database of finding aids encoded for use on the World Wide Web. The finding aids describe seventy-six collections, held by a consortium of nine institutions, depicting the history of American physics and allied sciences in the twentieth century. The institute plans to publicize in conference presentations and publications the lessons of its experience in encoding finding aids created by a variety of institutions.

The Maine State Museum in Augusta is documenting 9,000 items in its domestic life collection, including furniture, textiles, household accessories, toys, and recreational artifacts. The objects will be examined by visiting scholars and new information about the cultural context and potential interpretive uses added to each object's catalog record.

The University of Michigan is preserving and enhancing accessibility to monographs and photographs in its Philippine-American Collection. The materials, which date primarily from 1898 to 1910, focus on the Spanish American War and the subsequent period of American governance. Nearly 1,700 monographs and more than 1,300 photographs will be scanned to create a digital collection. In addition to page images for display, full text searching capabilities will be provided. To preserve original materials, 4,500 volumes will be deacidified and conservation treatment carried out on selected photographs and volumes. Bibliographic records for the materials will be contributed to a national bibliographic utility.

Stabilization of Collections

The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is rehousing its Navajo artifact collection and related archive. The collection, which features 4,000 objects documenting Navajo history and culture, is used regularly by scholars and in exhibitions and related publications. The grant will allow the museum to purchase storage furniture to ensure its long-term preservation.

Education and Training Programs

AMIGOS Library Services in Dallas, Texas offers a preservation field service program for libraries, archives, and historical organizations in Arizona, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Workshops on preservation and digital imaging, technical consultations, preservation surveys, and disaster response assistance are provided.

Research Tools and Reference Works

The Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska is completing the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Containing approximately 1,400 entries, the encyclopedia will provide scholars, students, and general audiences with insights into the region's folkways, cultures, literary traditions, music, and art. The encyclopedia will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in hardback, paperback, and CD-ROM formats.

The University of Virginia is creating an online archive of the works of British author and artist William Blake (1757-1827). The manuscripts and volumes documenting Blake's career, particularly his illuminated works, are scattered in archives throughout the world and increasingly restricted in use due to the fragility of the originals. The archive provides unified access to these texts, along with his paintings, drawings, and commercial and original engravings. Electronic tools, such as searchable text and scalable images, allow users to study side-by-side the literary and visual components of Blake's works.

The University of Wisconsin is continuing the preparation of volumes IV and V of the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). This comprehensive reference work documents geographical differences in the vocabulary, pronunciation, and morphology of American English. DARE draws on a compilation of approximately 2.5 million words gathered by teams of field workers who conducted interviews in rural and urban areas across the country, supplemented by nearly a century of publications and archival materials on dialect and folk speech.