NEH 2011 America's Historical and Cultural Organizations Implementation Grants CFDA 45.164

Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects and digital materials.

Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experience are related to the types of collections and the nature of the acitivities that are th focus of their projects.

NEH Site Announcement
Applications are due by May 01, 2012.

Preservation Assistance Grants may be used for purposes like these.

• General preservation assessments
  Applicants may engage a conservator, preservation librarian, archivist, or other appropriate consultant to conduct a general preservation assessment and to help draft a long-range plan for the care of humanities collections. The consultant visits the institution to assess policies, practices, and conditions affecting the care and preservation of humanities collections and prepares a report that summarizes the findings and contains prioritized recommendations for future preservation action.
• Consultations with professionals to address a specific preservation issue, need, or problem
  Applicants may hire a consultant to help address challenges in the stewardship of humanities collections. For example, consultants can provide advice about
  • developing disaster preparedness and response plans;
  • establishing environmental monitoring programs, instituting integrated pest management programs, and developing plans for improving environmental conditions or security or fire protection for collections;
  • studying light levels in exhibition and storage spaces and recommending appropriate methods for controlling light and reducing damage to collections;
  • developing detailed plans for improving storage or rehousing a collection; and
  • assessing the conservation treatment needs of selected items in a collection.
  From preliminary discussions about the proposed assessment, a consultant may be able to anticipate an institution’s need for basic preservation supplies. In such cases, the applicant may request funds to purchase the recommended supplies, but only if the consultant’s letter of commitment provides a description of the supplies and justification for their use. After the on-site visit, the consultant can refine the list of supplies to be purchased.
• Purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies
  Applicants who have completed a preservation assessment or consulted with an appropriate professional may request funds to purchase permanent and durable furniture and supplies (for example, cabinets and shelving units, storage containers, boxes, folders, and sleeves). Grant funds may be used to support vendor fees for shipping and installation of storage furniture. If an institution’s staff and volunteers have limited experience in rehousing collections, the institution should enlist a consultant to provide guidance and training at the beginning of the project. Applicants requesting storage supplies should discuss how plans for the organization or arrangement of the collections have informed the selection of supplies and equipment.
• Purchase of environmental monitoring equipment for humanities collections
  Applicants may purchase environmental monitoring equipment (for example, dataloggers, hygrothermographs, and light meters). If the institution’s staff does not have experience using the equipment, the application should include a request for training in the use and installation of the equipment and the interpretation of the monitoring data.
• Education and training
  Applicants may request support to send staff members who work with humanities collections to workshops and training courses addressing preservation and access topics.
  Applicants may also hire a consultant to conduct on-site training for staff and volunteers. On-site workshops may be tailored to meet specific needs and holdings of the institution. Staff and volunteers from neighboring organizations may also be invited to participate.
  Education and training requests may address both preservation and access topics. For example, workshops could focus on topics such as the following:

  • preservation and care of humanities collections (often offered by collection type, for example, textiles, paintings, photographs, archival records, manuscripts, and books),
  • methods and materials for the storage of collections,
  • environmental monitoring programs,
  • disaster preparedness and response,
  • best practices for cataloging art and material culture collections,
  • proper methods for the arrangement and description of archival collections,
  • best practices for sustaining digital collections,
  • standards for digital preservation, and
  • care and handling of collections during digitization.

Applicants may combine two or more elements of the project types listed above in a single application. For example, an applicant may request funds for a consultant to conduct a preservation assessment and an on-site preservation workshop for the institution’s staff. In such cases, the consultant’s letter of commitment should fully describe both proposed activities and the associated fees.

NEH grants may support consultant fees, workshop registration fees, travel and per diem expenses, and the costs of purchasing and shipping preservation supplies and equipment.

Previously funded projects

An institution that has received a Preservation Assistance Grant may apply for another grant to support the next phase of its preservation efforts. For example, after completing a preservation assessment, an institution might apply to purchase storage supplies and cabinets to rehouse a collection identified as a high priority for improved storage. These proposals receive no special consideration and will be judged by the same criteria as others in the grant competition.

Preservation Assistance Grants may not be used for

• projects focusing on collections that fall outside the humanities;
• projects focusing on collections or materials that are not accessible for research, education, or public programming;
• projects focusing on collections or materials that are the responsibility of an agency of the federal government;
• appraisals of collections to determine their historical or financial value;
• conservation or restoration treatments (including deacidification and encapsulation) or the purchase of conservation or restoration treatment supplies and equipment (for example, mending tape, erasers, and cleaning supplies), or library binding;
• treatment of collections for pest infestation;
• graduate-level conservation training or training related to advanced conservation treatment;
• projects that focus on preserving or restoring buildings or other structures;
• capital improvements to buildings and building systems, including the purchase of equipment such as air conditioners, dehumidifiers, lighting systems, and security and fire protection systems;
• projects to catalog, index, or arrange and describe collections;
• the exhibition or display of collections, and the purchase of furniture and display cases intended for this purpose;
• reformatting of collections (for example, digitizing, photocopying, microfilming, or copying to another medium) or the purchase of equipment for reformatting (for example, computers, scanners, digital cameras, cassette decks, and CD-ROM drives);
• development of digitization programs or digital asset management systems;
• purchase of computers;
• salaries and fringe benefits for the staff of an institution, including the hiring of student interns;
• attendance at regular meetings of museum, library, archives, or preservation organizations; or
• the recovery of indirect costs.

Document Type: Grants Notice
Funding Opportunity Number: 20120501-PG
Opportunity Category: Discretionary
Posted Date: Jan 09, 2012
Creation Date: Jan 09, 2012
Original Closing Date for Applications: May 01, 2012
Current Closing Date for Applications: May 01, 2012
Archive Date: May 31, 2012
Funding Instrument Type: Grant
Category of Funding Activity: Humanities (see "Cultural Affairs" in CFDA)
Category Explanation:
Expected Number of Awards:
Estimated Total Program Funding:
Award Ceiling: $6,000
Award Floor: $0
CFDA Number(s): 45.149 -- Promotion of the Humanities_Division of Preservation and Access
Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

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