Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grants

February 2009 Grant Announcement

Alabama  |  Arkansas  |  Colorado  |  Guam  |  Illinois  |  Iowa  |  Kansas  |  Kentucky  |  Maine 

Maryland  |  Massachusetts  |  New Hampshire  |  New Mexico  |  North Carolina  |  North Dakota 

Ohio  |  Oregon  |  South Carolina  |  South Dakota  |   Utah  |  Virgin Islands  |  Virginia  |  Wyoming 

Alabama

Alabama Historical Commission - Montgomery, AL
Award Amount: $39,611

Contact: Ms. Clyde Eller
Chief Curator
(334)230-2668; clyde.eller@preserveala.org

Project Title: "Building an Alabama Alliance for Collections Care"
The Alabama Historical Commission, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the Alabama Museums Association, the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries, and the Society of Alabama Archivists, use its grant to build an effective alliance among stakeholders who share a common interest in preserving and conserving both two-dimensional and three-dimensional artifacts. The partners will expand a directory of 1,186 archives, libraries, museums, and other collecting organizations; conduct a survey of Alabama collections-holding organizations and disseminate these results; develop a statewide collections plan in a series of focus group sessions and meetings; conduct training in emergency preparedness; and create a plan to raise public awareness and marshal public-private support for collections care, addressing two recommendations of the Heritage Health Index.

Arkansas

Amigos Library Services - Dallas, TX
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Gina Minks
Imaging and Preservation Service Manager
(972)340-2825; minks@amigos.org

Project Title: "Preserve Arkansas Heritage Project: An IMLS Connecting to Collections Planning Grant"
The Arkansas State Library, the Arkansas History Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism will work with Amigos Library Services to conduct 25 one-day site surveys of collections-holding organizations throughout the state and five regional preservation workshops to provide training to staff of museums, libraries, and archives. This initiative will provide a basic understanding of the condition of the physical collections throughout the state while providing basic preservation training.

Colorado

Colorado Wyoming Association of Museums - Golden, CO
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Laura Douglas
Principal
(303)594-7767; educationalacarte@yahoo.com

Project Title: "Colorado Consortium State Planning Grant: statewide surveys and dissemination of results"
The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums, in partnership with the Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists; the Colorado State Library; the State Historical Society of Colorado; and the Bibliographical Center for Research, Rocky Mountain Region, will conduct a statewide electronic survey and two-hour on-site surveys that build on the findings of the Heritage Health Index. Sessions will be held at professional conferences to disseminate the survey results and offer basic emergency preparedness. Additionally, a workshop will be offered in multiple regions of the state to address the most urgent of collections care/preservation needs as identified by the surveys.

Guam

University of Guam - Mangilao, GU
Award Amount: $38,484

Contact: Mrs. Monique Storie
Archive Librarian
(671)735-2150; mstorie@guam.uog.edu

Project Title: "Connecting to Collection: Guam Statewide Planning Grant Application"
The University of Guam will partner with the Guam Public Library, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library, and Guam Community College to create a comprehensive profile of the island's collecting institutions to develop programs for professional development and guide collection care from routine maintenance to large-scale preservation projects. Findings from this project will strengthen institutional ability to prioritize and undertake preservation and conservation activities.

Illinois

Illinois State Museum Society - Springfield, IL
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Dr. Bonnie Styles
Director
(217)782-7011; director@museum.state.il.us

Project Title: "Development of the Illinois Collections Preservation Plan and Network"
The Illinois State Museum Society will partner with eleven diverse organizations to establish the Illinois Collections Preservation Plan and Network. The partnership will hold a series of meetings across the state and accessible by teleconference to consider critical preservation topics with government organizations, large public and private institutions, and small and mid-sized collections-holding organizations. The meetings will focus on four themes: providing tools and assessing needs for improving conditions and collections care; disaster training and cooperative response; building public preservation awareness through training and programming; and integrating existing preservation grants for statewide benefit. The project partners will establish the statewide plan and network to carry out the recommendations of The Heritage Health Index.

Iowa

Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium - Iowa City, IA
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Nancy Kraft
Head, Preservation Department
3193355286; nancy-e-kraft@uiowa.edu

Project Title: "Developing a Statewide Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan for Iowa"
The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, the Iowa Museum Association, and the State Library of Iowa, will develop a formal, coordinated emergency response plan at the local and state level. The project activities include surveying institutional preparedness and knowledge of resources, geo-referencing location of cultural repositories, raising awareness of the need for disaster response plans, developing a strategy for establishing "first responders," and developing a simple, broadly applicable disaster response planning tool.

Kansas

State Library of Kansas - Topeka, KS
Award Amount: $34,983

Contact: Cynthia Roupe
Director of Public Services
(785)296-5437; cindyr@kslib.info

Project Title: "Sustaining Kansans' Commitment to Collections by a Focus on Emergency Planning"
The State Library of Kansas, along with seven partner organizations, will establish an online statewide resource guide for library and museum emergency planning. The project director and a consultant will work with the planning board to develop the resource guide and obtain feedback through a series of regional workshops led by preservation experts and a professional moderator. Follow-up review sessions by the consultant and planning board will refine and update the resource guide, establish a permanent Collections Emergency Coordinating Council for its maintenance, and produce a report with recommendations for future collections care activities.

Kentucky

Kentucky Historical Society Foundation - Frankfort, KY
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Christopher Goodlett
Community Services Coordinator
(502)564-1792; chris.goodlett@ky.gov

Project Title: "Kentucky's Cultural Heritage: A Statewide Plan for Collections Assessment and Care"
The Kentucky Historical Society will partner with the Historical Confederation of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives to assess the collections care needs of the commonwealth and develop a plan to provide training, support, and capacity to ensure the ongoing preservation of the state's heritage. The partnership will develop a needs survey for collecting institutions in Kentucky; develop and implement a pilot project with three to five collecting institutions for a statewide collections management plan; and conduct a series of disaster planning and preparedness workshops that will provide instructions and guidelines for writing a disaster plan and inform a process to develop a statewide disaster response team.

Maine

Executive Office of the State of Maine - Augusta, ME
Award Amount: $39,485

Contact: Dr. Paula Work
Registrar
(207)287-8109; paula.work@maine.gov

Project Title: "Preserving Maine's Cultural Heritage: A Statewide Initiative"
The Maine State Museum, in partnership with the Maine State Archives, Maine Historical Society, Maine Humanities Council, Maine Archives and Museums, L.C. Bates Museum, Bangor Public Library, and University of Southern Maine, will create a statewide consortium to raise public awareness about collections care and marshal public and private support for these collections. The consortium will compile, organize, and analyze existing collections-based information across the state; create associated databases to assist in comparing the information; conduct a feasibility assessment of existing organizations; and create a values assessment ranking system to assist organizations with prioritizing the collections needs across the state.

Maryland

Maryland Department of Planning - Crownsville, MD
Award Amount: $35,830

Contact: Nichole Doub
Head Conservator - MAC Lab
(410)586-8577; ndoub@mdp.state.md.us

Project Title: "Maryland Connecting to Collections Project"
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, along with 11 partner organizations, will assist in improving the disaster plans for museum, archival, art, historical society, and library communities across the state of Maryland. The partners will identify the hazards and collections care challenges that face Maryland institutions and will develop a set of tools for disaster response including a modified version of an established online disaster-planning template, augmented to incorporate salvage steps for object-based collections, and a pocket response guide containing a state-wide list of disaster recovery and rehabilitation resources in conjunction with planning and response checklists. These steps will provide support to cultural institutions across the state and build relationships between cultural heritage and emergency management communities that are necessary and invaluable when disaster strikes.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners - Boston, MA
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Gregor Trinkaus-Randall
Preservation Specialist
(617)725-1860x236; gregor.trinkaus-randall@state.ma.us

Project Title: "Developing and Expanded and Enhanced Statewide Preservation Program for Massachusetts' Cultural Heritage"
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, along with its seven partners, will use its grant to hire a consultant to develop, administer, and analyze a survey directed at the cultural heritage institutions in the state. The results of this new survey will be compared with data from a 1989 preservation needs assessment survey and the Heritage Health Index to determine progress that has been made in addressing previously noted needs and to identify new areas of concern for future action. This intensive survey will allow Massachusetts to prioritize and develop a plan of action to address current preservation needs across the state.

New Hampshire

State of New Hampshire - Concord, NH
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Janet Eklund
Administrator of Library Operations
(603)271-2393; janet.eklund@dcr.nh.gov

Project Title: "New Hampshire Connecting to Collections: From Awareness to Funding"
The New Hampshire State Library will partner with the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources, the New Hampshire Department of Secretary of State, the Historic Preservation Office, and the New Hampshire Historical Society to survey the state's unique collections housed in over 500 libraries, museums, and archives. A steering committee comprised of members from major public, private, and academic collecting institutions in New Hampshire will guide the survey process and the development of an online database that will serve as a portal to the state's cultural resources, emphasizing the need for protection of imperiled and hidden collections.

New Mexico

Museum of New Mexico Foundation - Santa Fe, NM
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Mark MacKenzie
Director of Conservation/Chief Conservator
(505)476-1236; mark.mackenzie@state.nm.us

Project Title: "Creating a Collections Care Plan for New Mexico"
The Museum of New Mexico Foundation, along with six partner organizations will survey institutions with collections holdings; compile and report on collections care statewide for libraries, archives, and museums; and hold one-day collection care workshops at six museum locations throughout the state. Capturing this information through a comprehensive survey is essential for producing a baseline, statewide needs assessment report that will ultimately address the recommendations made by the Heritage Health Index.

North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources - Raleigh, NC
Award Amount: $39,963

Contact: Ms. LeRae Umfleet
NCDCR Chief of Collections Management
(252)923-5181; lerae.umfleet@ncdcr.gov

Project Title: "North Carolina Connecting to Collections"
The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources will partner with the North Carolina Museums Council, the North Carolina Preservation Consortium, and the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies to identify, coordinate, and assess collections preservation and disaster preparedness activities in the state's cultural heritage community. This project will facilitate lasting partnerships among individual entities and professional associations and build relationships with community representatives and political supporters to plan for sustainable, long-term success in these activities.

North Dakota

Museums in North Dakota - Bismarck, ND
Award Amount: $39,997

Contact: Mr. Mark Ryan
Vice President Collections and Registration
(701)232-3821x104; mryan@plainsart.org

Project Title: "North Dakota Cultural Heritage Initiative"
Museums in North Dakota will partner with eight organizations to host eight regional assessment meetings to determine how each museum, library, and archive throughout the state deals with the four primary Heritage Health Index recommendations. At each gathering, trained facilitators will identify the types and conditions of collections in order to prioritize action steps and provide a variety of collections-based resources and reference materials to attendees. The findings will be compiled in a database and shared statewide to highlight what assistance will be of most value to cultural organizations in the state.

Ohio

State Library of Ohio - Columbus, OH
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Missy Lodge
Head, Library Programs and Development
(614)644-6914; mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us

Project Title: "Ohio Heritage Partnership: A Statewide Initative"
The State Library of Ohio, partnering with the Ohio Historical Society, will conduct a needs assessment of Ohio cultural heritage institutions. The steering committee will collect data that is representative of all of the state’s cultural heritage organizations, compiling a directory of contact and institutional information and a report detailing the findings of the needs assessment. A summit entitled State of the Historical Record in Ohio will be held, followed by a series of regional meetings that will form the basis of the Ohio Cultural Heritage Strategic Plan.

Oregon

Oregon Museums Association - Portland, OR
Award Amount: $39,923

Contact: Mr. Kyle Jansson
President
(503)986-0673; kylej53@minetfiber.com

Project Title: "The Oregon Preservation Assessment and Education Planning Project"
The Oregon Museums Association will partner with seven organizations to identify the preservation needs of the state’s libraries, museums, and archives. After conducting a survey, evaluating the information, and staging regional forums, leaders of the state's cultural organizations will collaboratively create a statewide preservation plan addressing the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index. This plan will address the need for more workers trained in collections care and emergency preparedness, outline steps to improve the quality of collections care throughout the state, and raise awareness of and generate support for the preservation needs of the state's cultural collections among the public and decision makers.

South Carolina

Clemson University - Clemson, SC
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Emily Gore
Head of Digital Initiatives, Assistant Librarian
(864)656-3622; egore@clemson.edu

Project Title: "Building South Carolina's Heritage Health Index"
Clemson University Libraries in collaboration with partners across the state, including the South Carolina State Library,; the South Carolina Department of Archives and History; the Confederation of South Carolina Local Historical Societies; and the Palmetto Archives, Libraries, Museums Council on Preservation, will identify and perform onsite surveys of cultural heritage organizations based on the Heritage Health Index. This information will be used to create a database of all South Carolina repositories with corresponding photographs of the institution, publish a directory of institutions and collection strengths based on this database and establish an informed baseline from which to develop improved condition of collections, develop viable emergency plans, improve staff training, and build stronger partnerships between identified cultural heritage agencies.

South Dakota

South Dakota Heritage Fund - Pierre, SD
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Helen Louise
Museum Director
(605)773-3798; helen.louise@state.sd.us

Project Title: "South Dakota Connects to Collections Project"
The South Dakota Heritage Fund, along with the Association of South Dakota Museums, will use grant funds to do a comprehensive assessment survey of the historical collections within South Dakota. The project will develop an overall picture of the state's collections, set up a method for sharing expertise and resources to care for them, and plan for emergency and disaster training. Collections data from on-site and electronic surveys would be compiled into a database for future reference and planning.

Utah

University of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Mr. Randy Silverman
Preservation Librarian
(801)585-6782; randy.silverman@utah.edu

Project Title: "Utah Connecting to Collections"
The University of Utah’s Marriott Library will oversee a project designed to responsibly improve the long-term care of Utah's material culture. Coordinated with six partners among Utah’s community of libraries, archives, and museums, the project will develop and implement the state's first formal preservation assessment. In keeping with the findings of the Heritage Health Index, the results from this survey will be disseminated through four preservation forums held in strategic geographic locations. These forums will present an opportunity to improve preservation education opportunities statewide, and will help in the development of plans to improve preservation funding.

Virgin Islands

Planning and Natural Resources - Charlotte Amalie, VI
Award Amount: $40,000

Contact: Ms. Ingrid Bough
Territorial Director of Libraries, Archives & Museums
(340)773-5715; ingrid.bough@dpnr.gov.vi

Project Title: "Strategic Plan for Preservation of Virgin Islands Collections"
The Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums of the Government of the Virgin Islands, with the assistance of its fourteen grant partners, professional consultants, and advisors, will form and direct a team of collections caregivers and custodians to conduct conservation surveys, perform needs assessment evaluations, and promote best practices for conservation and preservation. Survey and analysis results will provide the scaffolding for action plans and a professional approach to collections care management, and information will be shared throughout the territory in order to educate and raise awareness.

Virginia

Virginia Association of Museums - Richmond, VA
Award Amount: $39,987

Contact: Ms. Margo Carlock
Executive Director
(804)788-5821; mcarlock@vamuseums.org

Project Title: "Statewide Planning Proposal for Virginia"
The Virginia Association of Museums, along with the Library of Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Archives Conference, the Virginia Conservation Association, and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, will undertake an assessment exercise for small museums, present a two-day intensive training experience in collections care for staff of small organizations, extend local emergency support groups throughout Virginia, develop easy disaster plan templates for museums of different sizes and capabilities to be used in a series of workshops, and develop a comprehensive strategy to raise public awareness with internal and external audiences of the importance of collections care issues.

Wyoming

Buffalo Bill Memorial Association - Cody, WY
Award Amount: $39,943

Contact: Ms. Beverly Perkins
Conservator
(307)578-4029; beverlyp@bbhc.org

Project Title: "Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grant"
The Buffalo Bill Historical Center and five partners will identify and address the most pressing preservation needs for Wyoming's cultural institutions. This process will include identifying the state's collecting institutions and assessing their stewardship concerns; holding regional conferences for networking, collections care training, and disaster response; developing and maintaining a statewide database of all collecting institutions; and organizing workshops that address Heritage Health Index concerns. The partners are Colorado-Wyoming Museum Association, Wyoming State Library, Sheridan County Historical Society Museum, Western Wyoming Community College, and Nicolaysen Art Museum.