NEH: America's Historical and Cultural Organizations

In the National Endowment for the Humanities' America's Historical and Cultural Organizations grant program, eligible project formats include but are not limited to museum and library exhibitions, interpretive websites and other digital projects, interpretations of historic places, reading and discussion groups, and related programs.

Applicants are encouraged to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public. Projects should encourage dialogue, discussion, and civic engagement, and they should foster learning among people of all ages. Humanities projects tailored to particular groups, such as families, youth, seniors, at-risk communities, and veterans are welcomed.

NEH offers two categories of grant: Planning grants, for projects that may need further development before applying for implementation, and Implementation grants which support the final preparation of a project for presentation to the public. 

America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations grants support:

• traveling exhibitions that are presented at multiple venues;
• long-term exhibitions at one institution;
• interpretive websites or other digital formats;
• interpretation of historic places or areas;
• reading and discussion programs;
• panel exhibitions that travel widely, reach a broad audience, and take advantage of complementary programming formats (e.g., reading and discussion series, radio, or other media) to enhance the visitor experience; and
• other project formats that creatively engage audiences in humanities ideas.

Deadline: 1/11/2012.

Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives

The Connecticut State Library Presents: The Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives

 October 28, 2011, 9:00AM to 4:00PM at the Connecticut State Library's Memorial Hall, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut (directions). Free! Register.

The Connecticut Forum on Digital Initiatives will bring together academic and research libraries, museums and cultural institutions from around the state to talk about the digital projects happening in our historic state. It’s a chance for institutions to bring their projects and ideas to the table and learn from each other about how to improve and enhance them. The theme of this forum is collaboration, and how in the face of ever tightening budgets, Connecticut institutions and organizations can work together to create better digital projects for the people of Connecticut.

Speakers from institutions including Yale University and the Hartford History Center will cover issues just as diverse. Topics will cover the digital lifecycle of a project, from digitization to preservation as well as platforms, like Omeka and Historypin. Several successful collaborative projects underway in Connecticut will be highlighted.

The forum will broaden participant’s skills and perspectives on digital initiatives, and encourage participants to form new collaborative partnerships. This may be a simple collaborative collection, or a complex grant partnership. In order to facilitate this, we hope to create a project repository where institutions can list their digital projects. Take this opportunity to meet people institutions next door and help create a community that will move Connecticut forward.

Presenters scheduled:

• Paul Baran, Assistant State Archivist, Connecticut State Archives
• Meg Bellinger, Director, Office of Digital Assets and Infrastructure, Yale University
• Michael Bennett, Digital Projects Librarian & Institutional Repository Coordinator, Univ. of  Conn.
• Jack Dougherty, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, Trinity University
• Chris Edwards, Digital Studio Production Manager, Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library
• John ffrench, Director, Visual Resources Department, Yale Art Gallery
• Kathleen Foulke, Project Director, Connecticut History Online
• Michael Howser, Undergraduate Education and GIS Librarian, H. Babbidge Library, Univ. of Conn.
• Gail Hurley, Statewide Library Catalog Coordinator, Connecticut State Library
• Brenda Miller, Curator, Hartford History Center
• Leah Prescott, Digital Projects Coordinator, Getty Research Institute
• Tom Scheinfeldt, Managing Director, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
• Nick Stanhope, CEO, We Are What We Do/Historypin
• Kendall Wiggin, State Librarian, Connecticut State Library

A special thank you to the Connecticut Humanities Council for sponsoring Nick Stanhope, CEO, We Are What We Do/Historypin.

Who Should Attend: This is not an introduction to digitization. It is strongly recommended that attendees currently be involved in some form of digital project or initiative. Attendees must be Connecticut based institutions.

For more information please contact:

Christine Pittsley
Digital Collections Technician
Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Ave.
Hartford Ct. 06106
860-757-6517

Yale U's Peabody Museum featured on IMLS home page

Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History's 2009 National Leadership Grant has been featured on the front page of the IMLS web site in a profile titled September 2011: Teachers Use Museum Objects to Help Students Learn about Real-World Problems.

   

 "...the Peabody Fellows Program is taking on a new direction. Over the past two summers, the program has held institutes for science and social studies teachers...[to] foster their ability to develop new and exciting curriculum that integrates museum objects while aligning with national and state standards for learning. Along with these week-long institutes, the grant is helping the Peabody Museum to establish a regional teachers’ association which will cultivate the museum’s relationship with educators while simultaneously making connections between teachers."
The project finds the teachers collaborating to develop curriculum, sharing the Museum’s resources and knowledge, and developing long-term relationships that help promote participation.

The Peabody is the prior recipient (March, 2011) of $450,000 in Save America’s Treasures Grants for its 19th-Century Dinosaur Collections of Othniel Charles Marsh. Othniel Charles Marsh was a leading American paleontologist whose dinosaur collection proved invaluable as the fossil record Charles Darwin needed to develop his theory of evolution. America’s Treasures grant will help re-house the collection in a climate controlled environment, providing greater improve access to the collection.

The Peabody is also the prior recipient (June, 2011) of  $100,901 (matched with $101,322 in local funds) in the "Provision of Optimum Environment" grant category to conserve and improve storage of its 2,000-item Historical Scientific Instrument Collection, which includes objects directly associated with 18th- and 19th-century scientists and instrument manufacturers as well as several 20th-century Nobel Prize winners. This project sees students and staff unpacking, documenting, and rehousing the collection in new museum-quality cabinets in a new storeroom equipped with environmental controls and a monitored security system. The collection is being organized according to scientific discipline and will be readily accessible to students, faculty, and researchers both physically and virtually through an online digital image database. This will promote the long-term preservation of the collection while improving access to individual instruments for study and teaching.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

Connecticut's "Museums for America" Grant Awards Announcement

Among the 160 national awards announced by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) were over $800,000 in grants for Connecticut museums.

“Congratulations to the Museums for America grantees. We are pleased to support museums through investments in high-priority, high value activities that benefit communities throughout the US,” said Susan Hildreth, IMLS Director. “These museums, small and large, will help to educate and inspire the public for years to come.”

IMLS awarded $18,777,552 in federal funding nationwide, with applicants providing at least a 100% local match.

Basic details are provided below, and you can read more here.

Beardsley Zoo, Bridgeport. Award Amount: $78,000; Matching Amount: $81,000
Grant Category: Engaging Communities
Contact: Ms. Margaret Sackrider, Zoo Educator. (203) 394-6563; msackrider@beardsleyzoo.org

The Beardsley Zoo will continue its "Conservation Discovery Corps" teen program, a year-round informal science education program designed to provide diverse and economically challenged but environmentally aware students, aged 14 to 17, with applied wildlife conservation training in the zoo and through field research. Students are trained in conservation and education concepts that are applied through field expeditions and collaborations with scientists in research and habitat restoration activities to prepare them as zoo exhibit interpreters and teenaged Conservation Discovery Corps ambassadors. Through their interactions, participants develop increased self-confidence and gain valuable work skills in leadership, teamwork, and public speaking.

Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington. Award Amount: $145,410; Matching Amount: $191,120
Grant Category: Building Institutional Capacity
Contact: Dr. Sue Sturtevant, Executive Director and CEO. (860) 677-4787; sturtevants@hillstead.org

Hill-Stead Museum will begin a "Capacity Building Project for Outdoor Programs." This project will support programs and events that utilize the museum's designed cultural landscape as the context for learning, exploration, refreshment, and community connection. The culmination of several years of institution-wide efforts to more fully utilize the museum's exceptional natural resources, the project will contribute to the process of expanding the exhibition and programmatic platform from a focus on the historic Pope-Riddle house and its collections to one that includes the entire historic cultural landscape and builds on the full artistic, literary, and humanitarian legacy of Theodate Pope Riddle. Specific programs will include "Excursions into the Natural World," an intergenerational nature education program, a new farmer's market, and the nationally acclaimed Sunken Garden Poetry and Music Festival.

Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, Hartford. Award Amount: $150,000; Matching Amount: $189,736
Grant Category: Engaging Communities
Contact: Ms. Beverly Lucas, Curator. (860) 247-8996x14; beverly.lucas@ctlandmarks.org

The Connecticut Antiquarian and Landmarks Society will hire a community educator who will be responsible for audience engagement, community partnership, and community-based programming at the society's five core properties. Building on previous research, the community educator will focus on projects that address specific audiences and audience needs for each core property. This work is integral to fulfilling the society's strategic plan and to strengthening its ability to serve the public by identifying and delineating the highest-priority community- and audience-focused programs for each its core communities.

Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield. Award Amount: $128,835; Matching Amount: $180,121
Grant Category: Collections Stewardship
Contact: Ms. Catherine Fields, Director. (860) 567-4501; cfields@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org

The Litchfield Historical Society will develop online archival finding aids, as well as launch the online component of the artifact database for the society's collections from the Age of Jackson through the Colonial Revival (1835-1935). This project fulfills the society's mission to preserve and interpret Litchfield history through the organization, description, documentation, and dissemination of specific archival and artifact collections. This project will enable the society's collections on this important era in American history to reach a wider audience than now possible. The society has designated these collections as its highest priority for increased access based on frequency of research and photographic service requests; upcoming exhibitions on the Civil War and Colonial Revival; demonstrated interest by scholars; and usefulness of the material for teachers and in educational programs.

Sea Research Foundation, Mystic. Award Amount: $122,037; Matching Amount: $122,787
Grant Category: Engaging Communities
Contact: Mr. Pat Shea, Director of Digital Media Group. (860) 572-5955; pshea@searesearch.org

Sea Research Foundation, comprising Mystic Aquarium and the Institute for Exploration and Immersion Learning, will implement its distance learning curricula to further inspire youth in science, math, and technology through exploration and discovery. Sea Research Foundation's project, "Nautilus Live Experience," will build on an innovative deep ocean exploration exhibit at Mystic Aquarium; it will incorporate a dynamic, live, and interactive theater experience and supporting Web site. The project promotes marine science literacy, ocean conservation, environmental awareness, and education and research while engaging audiences in long-term expeditions via live-boat communication.

Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven. Award Amount: $148,015; Matching Amount: $148,143
Grant Category: Engaging Communities
Contact: Ms. Jane Pickering, Deputy Director. (203) 432-0798; jane.pickering@yale.edu

The Peabody Museum of Natural History will use funds for "EVOLUTIONS," an after-school program for 60 New Haven public school students in grades 9 to 12, from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, in an academically rigorous, for-credit program focused on science literacy, college preparation, and career awareness. Students will spend one afternoon a week at the museum during the academic year, where they will produce a museum exhibition, attend seminars, explore museum collections, participate in college field trips, and intern in a variety of Yale laboratories. Older students will participate in a "career ladder" where they will learn to interpret the museum's exhibits for the public. Students will be trained by a professional museum evaluator to implement tracking studies and other evaluative methods to assess the impact of their activities on museum visitors.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk. Award Amount: $46,294; Matching Amount: $46,294
Grant Category: Building Institutional Capacity
Contact: Ms. Rhonda Kiest, Executive Director. (203) 899-0606; rhonda@steppingstonesmuseum.org

Stepping Stones Museum for Children will implement the use of a comprehensive survey tool to enhance the museum evaluation processes. This tool will be capable of linking a front of house kiosk, PDAs, and other touch screen/tablet interfaces and online delivery tools with a back office database application. By doing so, the museum will acquire valuable data to inform strategic decisions, optimize programs and customer service, and steward the museum's mission to "broaden and enrich the educational opportunities for children ten and under and enhance their understanding of the world." Implementing the survey tool will result in real time, actionable, and reliable data to help develop programming for both exhibitions and education, support business decision making, and provide a better understanding of the needs and interests of current and prospective audiences.

Connecting to Collections: Statewide Implementation Grants

Deadline: 2/1/2012

Statewide Implementation Grants, an important component of the Connecting to Collections initiative, will fund a limited number of grants to implement the plans or models created with the Statewide Planning grants, addressing issues identified in the Heritage Health Index, to:
• provide safe conditions for their collections;
• develop an emergency plan;
• assign responsibility for collections care; and work together to increase public and private support for, and raise public awareness about, collections care.

These grants are designed to encourage people and institutions in each state to collaborate on the implementation of a plan that addresses the specific and most pressing needs of its collections-holding institutions.

Applicants are expected to report what has already been done, name the organizations and people to be involved in the implementation process, and outline their plan's specific steps to improve collections care.

Congratulations to CT’s 2011 Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) participants

Washington, DC - The Conservation Assessment Program (CAP), which assists small museums in providing appropriate care for endangered collections, has announced this year’s participating museums. In 2011, 101 museums in 36 states and Puerto Rico will have the condition of their collections and historic structures assessed. CAP is administered by Heritage Preservation and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through its National Leadership Grants program.

• Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, $3,590
• Connecticut River Museum, Essex, $7,020
• Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, $3,390

The wide array of 2011 recipients includes the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Georgia; Waikiki Aquarium in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois; and the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center in Lawton, Oklahoma. View the complete list of 2011 CAP participants.

“Museums offer us a window to ourselves, our communities, and our planet,” said Susan Hildreth, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “By caring for over 198 million artifacts, America’s small museums preserve the stories of people, places, and cultures. I am proud that the IMLS partnership with Heritage Preservation, through the Conservation Assessment Program, provides museums with the information they need to preserve their collections for generations to come.”

CAP helps small to mid-sized museums of all types, from art museums to zoos, obtain general assessments of the condition of their collections, environment, and historic buildings. Following an on-site assessment, the museum receives a report recommending priorities to improve collections care. This report assists museums in educating staff and board members on conservation practices, creating long-range and emergency plans, and raising funds to improve the care of their collections.

Since 1990, 2,600 museums have participated in CAP, including museums in all 50 states and the U. S. territories of the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau, and Puerto Rico. As a result of Heritage Preservation’s new three-year cooperative agreement with IMLS, CAP will provide additional online resources and networking for its community of small museums and assessors.

“For more than twenty years, participating museums have used CAP to demonstrate to private, local, state, and federal funding sources that support of collections care is an excellent tool for engaging new audiences, contributing to a museum’s mission to promote learning and, thereby, ensuring that the museum’s collections will be available for the future,” said Lawrence L. Reger, President of Heritage Preservation.

The 2012 CAP application will be available on Heritage Preservation’s web site www.heritagepreservation.org on Monday, October 3, 2011. To be added to the CAP application mailing list or for more information, call 202-233-0800 or e-mail cap@heritagepreservation.org.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

Heritage Preservation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the United States. By identifying risks, developing innovative programs, and providing broad public access to expert advice, Heritage Preservation assists museums, libraries, archives, historic preservation and other organizations, as well as individuals, in caring for our endangered heritage.