Chambers Library Collection Assessment and Disaster Recovery Plan

Recipient: McNeely, Bonnie (Edmond, OK 73034 USA) in affiliation with University of Central Oklahoma

Goal: Funding supports a preservation assessment that will include recommendations for improving handling and storage practices and a one-day workshop on emergency preparedness and disaster response.

Description: A preservation assessment report with short and long term priorities will help the library staff incorporate best practices for the conservation of print, microform, and media materials in the UCO Chambers Library. Staff training and the development of a Disaster Recovery Plan by library staff should help the library respond quickly should an emergency response be needed to preserve the library collections.

Grant: 199466 / PG-50722-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Schmidt Library Preservation Assistance

Recipient: Jacoby, Beth E (York, PA 17403-3651 USA) in affiliation with York College of Pennsylvania (York, PA 17403 USA)

Goal: A general preservation assessment with a particular focus on disaster preparedness and response, and a workshop in disaster response for library staff. The library's collection dates from 1838, when a group of 300 volumes, a collection of the Lyceum Movement, was placed in the York County Academy, predecessor to York College. Today the library holds books, microfilm, microfiche, audio compact discs, and videos that support the liberal arts curriculum. In addition, there are special collections of rare books, manuscripts, artifacts, and archival records.

Description: The first grant-supported activity will be to hire a professional consultant to perform a site survey to assess the vulnerabilities of the collections housed within Schmidt Library. The outcome will be a basic set of disaster preparedness and response documents that Library staff will use to ensure the future viability of our humanities and Archives collections for faculty, students, and community users. The second activity will be to hire a disaster preparedness consultant to instruct Library staff in aspects of emergency and disaster planning. Both the plan and the training to implement it will benefit the longevity of the Library's collections. The training will include exercises, discussion, and practical applications given by the consultant. The project will include the cost of travel and fees for the instructor.

Grant: 199630 / PG-50886-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

General Preservation Assessment, Bowdoin College Library

Recipient: Lindemann, Richard H.F (Brunswick, ME 04011-8421 USA) in affiliation with Bowdoin College (Brunswick, ME 04011 USA)

Goal: A general preservation assessment of the library; consultation with the staff to review policies and procedures for preservation, conservation, and disaster preparedness; and recommendations for short-term improvements of environmental conditions. The library's collections, developed over a period of 200 years, exceed one million volumes and include more than 18,000 current print and electronic periodical and newspaper subscriptions, 28,000 audiovisual items, 40,000 maps, and 5,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival records.

Description: The Bowdoin College Library requests a Preservation Assistance Grant of $6,000 to support a general preservation assessment of the Bowdoin College Library. The Library will contract with the Northeast Document Conservation Center [NEDCC] to: 1. perform a general preservation survey of the Library, including an assessment of: the physical and climatic conditions of library facilities; the condition of library print, microform, and media collections; storage and housing practices for special collections (print, manuscript, a/v, digital, and photographic formats). 2. meet with appropriate staff to review current policies and procedures for print preservation and conservation, especially brittle materials and disaster preparedness. 3. prepare a report of findings and make recommendations for short-term improvements of environmental conditions, storage, and handling of materials, and a long-term preservation plan to insure the longevity of the Library's humanities resources.

Grant: 199631 / PG-50887-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Preservation Assessment of the Henry Bacon Papers

Recipient: Taraba, Suzy (Wesleyan, CT 06459 USA) in affiliation with Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT 06457 USA)

Goal: A preservation assessment of the papers of the architect Henry Bacon (1866-1924), including his architectural drawings, blueprints, construction photographs, correspondence, and scrapbooks documenting more than eighty commissions throughout the United States. A highlight of the collection is the extensive archives of material on the building of the Lincoln Memorial.

Description: Wesleyan University's project is to commission a professional conservation assessment of the papers of Henry Bacon, the architect of the Lincoln Memorial. This assessment will include a treatment proposal and estimates for preservation work.

Grant: 199564 / PG-50820-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Felix G. Woodward Library Disaster Preparedness

Recipient: Johnson, Sharon (Clarksville, TN 37044 USA) in affiliation with Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, TN 37040 USA)

Goal: The hiring of a consultant to assist with the development of a disaster preparedness and emergency response plan and to provide training for staff. The library's humanities collections include the papers of several notable authors including Robert Penn Warren, Dorothy Dix, and local agrarian writer, Danforth Ross.

Description: The project will help the library finalize a disaster preparedness plan and provide recovery training to the library staff of the Felix G. Woodward Library of Austin Peay State University which is in a tornado zone. The library houses three humanities special collections and a general humanities collection that is essential for study of and research in the humanities not only by the students, faculty, and staff of the university, but by researchers and the surrounding community.

Grant: 199611 / PG-50867-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Environmental Monitoring for the Archives and Special Collections Division of the Brooklyn College Library

Recipient: LaBatto, Marianne E (Brooklyn, NY 11210 USA) in affiliation with CUNY Research Foundation, Brooklyn College

Goal: Funding supports the purchase of environmental monitoring equipment to preserve an archival and manuscript collection documenting the Brooklyn College community. The archive also includes books, photographs, film, newspapers, and memorabilia documenting the sport of boxing from 1890 to 2007.

Description: This grant would support the acquisition of 8 new IPI PEM2 Preservation Environment Monitors for the Archives and Special Collections Division of Brooklyn College Library. The current devices, HOBO U30 Remote Monitors, were comparatively inexpensive and have been in use for three years; they currently do not function with the level of accuracy that an efficacious preservation plan requires. The Archives and Special Collections Division recently completed a CCAP grant-funded project to build a new conservation lab, but this achievement is rendered somewhat ineffectual without proper measures in place to monitor climatic variation in storage areas. The HVAC system is adequate, but controlling conditions is difficult without first assaying accurate measurements. The new monitors, which feature online tracking software, would complete the much-needed final piece of a comprehensive preservation program of conservation, environmental monitoring, and climate control.

Grant: 199494 / PG-50750-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Preservation of Delawareana Housed in the Delaware Room of the Lewes Public Library

Recipient: Dudbridge, Chrys (Lewes, DE 19958 USA) in affiliation with Lewes Public Library, Inc.

Goal: Funding supports the purchase of preservation supplies for a collection of local history materials, as recommended by a preservation assessment. The Delaware Room houses books (both reference and rare), photographs, manuscripts, scrapbooks, maps, and works of art. The focus of the collection is Delaware history with an emphasis on the town of Lewes and Sussex County.

Description: This project will implement some of the recommendations made in a 2008 Preservation Survey regarding the library's collection of Delawareana housed in its Delaware Room. The very attractive room has cabinetry made of cherry wood harvested in the state. The Delaware Collection consists of over 400 books of which about 200 are rare. This project will line the wooden shelves and drawers with conservation grade acrylic and museum board to protect the collection from gases that may be released from the wood. As the collection is reshelved, oversize items will be placed spine down, bookends will be put in place, fragile items will be boxed, rare books will be properly tabbed, and titles will be evaluated for suitability for the collection. This grant request is for funds for purchase of the acrylic and museum board needed. We have preservation quality boxes on hand for materials that need to be boxed.

Grant: 199472 / PG-50728-10,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2010

Expanding Humanities Resources in the Heart of Silicon Valley

Recipient: Kifer, Ruth (San Jose, CA 95192-0028 USA) in affiliation with San Jose State University Foundation (San Jose, CA 95192 USA)

Goal: Endowment for the purchase of library resources and to support programs in the humanities.

Description: The San Jose State University (SJSU) Library has partnered with the San Jose Public Library to create the nation's largest joint academic and public library - the Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. Library - a lifelong learning center for the entire community. With an NEH Challenge Grant and matching private funds, the SJSU Library will establish an endowment that will allow the library to acquire new humanities information resources and develop library programming that supports SJSU's humanities curriculum. As a joint library, the resources and programming will serve 32,000 students, as well as University faculty and staff, and the 2.4 million residents in Silicon Valley. Digitally archived programming will be shared with scholars worldwide.

Grant: 193756 / CH-50656-09,   Division: Challenge Grants,   Program: Challenge Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Louisiana Digital Newspaper Project

Recipient: Smyth, Elaine B (Baton Rouge, LA 70803-3300 USA) in affiliation with Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA 70803-4600 USA)

Goal: The digitization of 100,000 pages of Louisiana newspapers, dating from 1860-1922, as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

Description: The Louisiana State University Libraries propose a project to digitize (from microfilm and original issues) and make freely available 100,000 pages of Louisiana newspapers published between 1860 and 1922, as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program. This 62-year span includes some of the most tumultuous periods in the state's history, from secession and the Civil War, through Reconstruction and the reactionary backlash that followed it, the institutionalization of segregation in the "Jim Crow" laws, and the development of the oil and gas industries early in the 20th century. The LSU Libraries have been microfilming Louisiana newspapers since the 1940s and hold the majority of master negative microfilm of Louisiana newspapers in existence; some important master microfilm is also held by ProQuest. The project will employ a Project Manager and a Graduate Assistant, in addition to Libraries staff who have previously participated in successful grant-supported digitization projects.

Grant: 196361 / PJ-50050-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: National Digital Newspaper Program,   Year Awarded: 2009

South Carolina Digital Newspaper Project

Recipient: Boyd, Kate Foster (Columbia, SC 29208 USA) in affiliation with University of South Carolina Research Foundation

Goal: The digitization of 100,000 pages of South Carolina newspapers, dating from 1860 to 1922, as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

Description: The University of South Carolina Libraries Digital Activities Center in collaboration with the South Caroliniana Library will scan and deliver to the Library of Congress (LC) through the National Endowment for the Humanities National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) an estimated 100,000 pages of newspapers, on approximately 700 rolls of film, spanning the years 1860 to 1922. The selected papers will represent the state???s major economic and geographic regions and will reflect major artistic, cultural, economic, ethnic, literary, political, racial and religious events in South Carolina and in the region.

Grant: 196357 / PJ-50046-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: National Digital Newspaper Program,   Year Awarded: 2009

OCRonym: Entity Extraction and Retrieval for Scanned Books

Recipient: Allan, James (Amherst, MA 01003 USA) in affiliation with University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Goal: Development of an extraction and retrieval system for named entities-people, places, and organizations-located across a large number of documents in order to use the system to track Optical Character Recognition (OCR) error rates in an effort to improve "noisy" OCR.

Description: In the past five years, massive book-scanning projects have produced an explosion in the number of sources for the humanities, available on-line to the broadest possible audiences. Transcribing page images by optical character recognition makes many searching and browsing tasks practical for scholars. But even low OCR error rates compound into high probability of error in a given sentence, and the error rate is even higher for names. We propose to build a prototype system for information extraction and retrieval of noisy OCR. In particular, we will optimize the extraction and retrieval of names, which are highly informative features for detecting topics and events in documents. We will build statistical models of characters and words from scanned books to improve lexical coverage, and we will improve name categorization and disambiguation by linking document contexts to external sources such as Wikipedia. Our testbed comes from over one million scanned books from the Internet Archive.

Grant: 197763 / HD-50794-09,   Division: Digital Humanities,   Program: Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Ontario City Library Local History Room Preservation Assessment

Recipient: Zackmann, Kelly (Ontario, CA 91764 USA) in affiliation with City of Ontario

Goal: A preservation assessment of the library's local history collection, the purchase of preservation supplies, and staff participation in the Western Archives Institute training program. The library's holdings, dating from the founding of the City of Ontario in 1882, document the region's citrus industry, manufacturing development, and environmental history.

Description: The Ontario City Library Model Colony History Room contains information and collections related to the history of the people, industries, agriculture, and city establishment of Ontario, California and the surrounding areas. The project itself will consist of three parts: Firstly, a preservation assessment will be completed by a professional consultant, which will also include an 18-month environmental assessment. The assessment will provide the History Room with a plan of action for preservation of its collections. Secondly, staff will purchase preservation supplies to aid in bringing the storage conditions of the collections up to standard practices. Thirdly, the program will provide training for the primary staff member of the History Room through participation in the 2009 Western Archives Institute training program sponsored by the California State Archives. The completion of the project will help ensure that the History Room collections continue to exists for future generations.

Grant: 193838 / PG-50474-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Assessment of the University Archives and Preservation Plan at the University of Montevallo's Carmichael Library

Recipient: Heatherly, Carey W (Montevallo, AL 35115 USA) in affiliation with University of Montevallo

Goal: A preservation assessment of the university archives and special collections documenting the history of the university and women's education in Alabama. The records also include the Olmstead Brothers' original design for the campus, a designated National Historic District.

Description: The Library proposes to hire a Preservation Services Librarian, from SOLINET (Southeastern Library Network), as a consultant. This consultant will spend one and a half days evaluating Carmichael Library's preservation practices and policies. Also, the consultant will evaluate the condition of materials housed in the University Archives and the area used for housing. As a result of the visit, the consultant will produce an extensive report and submit it to Carmichael Library's Archivist and Director. The Archivist and Director will work to order supplies and equipment and to institute new practices recommended by the consultant. The goal of this visit is to facilitate Carmichael Library's creation of a functional research Archives, both physical and digital, and to insure each items longevity.

Grant: 193887 / PG-50523-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Tucson Museum of Art Research Library Preservation

Recipient: Bunker, Lisa (Tucson, AZ 85701 USA) in affiliation with Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block

Goal: The purchase of environmental monitoring equipment, shelving, and preservation supplies for the museum's rare books and archival collections. The project would also support in-house workshops on environmental monitoring and preserving historical records. The museum's book and archival holdings support its strengths in Spanish Colonial, Latin American, and pre-Columbian art, as well as art of the American West.

Description: The Tucson Museum of Art would like to implement recommendations for preservation management in its Research Library. Recommendations are based on a preservation site survey conducted in April of 2007 and a subsequent Preservation Site Survey Report written in May 2007. The scope of the proposal includes: 1) the purchase and installation of environmental monitoring equipment; 2) the purchase of separate shelving for the rare book collection; 3) the purchase of steel canopy top shelving to protect the library's book collection from dust and light; and 4) the purchase of supplies to protect three archival collections, and damaged rare books. Two workshops, "Environmental Monitoring" and "Preserving Your Historical Records: An Archival Holding Maintenance," would be held to train staff and museum volunteers on new equipment and preservation practices.

Grant: 193935 / PG-50571-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Preserving and Protecting the Denton Public Library Special Collections

Recipient: Strauss, Kathleen (Denton, TX 76201 USA) in affiliation with City of Denton (Denton, TX 76201-4229 USA)

Goal: The purchase of preservation supplies for rehousing significant portions of the library's special collections. These materials focus on the history of Denton and the state of Texas and are heavily used by authors, educators, and family historians in the region and beyond.

Description: The Denton Public Library proposes to use the funding from the NEH Preservation Assistance Grant to purchase archival supplies to rehouse and protect the materials in the Denton Public Library Special Collections. The project will focus on the three collections within the Special Collections: Genealogy, Texana, and Denton, Texas. Each collection contains a variety of materials in various formats, including: monographs, serials, pamphlets, audio tapes, maps, photographs, newspapers, microforms, scrapbooks, historic vertical files, and rare books.

Grant: 193932 / PG-50568-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Improvement of Storage for SUNY Potsdam's College and University Archives and Special Collections

Recipient: Subramanian, Jane M (Potsdam, NY 13676 USA) in affiliation with SUNY Research Foundation, College at Potsdam

Goal: Purchase of archival shelving and ultraviolet light filters to store and protect the SUNY Potsdam College Archives documenting the history of the oldest unit of the SUNY system, dating from 1816; the Crane School of Music archives, one of the first institutions to train educators to teach music in public schools; and the papers of Congressman Bertrand Snell.

Description: Grant support is being requested to remedy the serious storage problems presently existing in the remote storage room of the SUNY Potsdam College Archives and Special Collections. If left unresolved, the inadequate storage of materials may result in damage to the materials. The funding will be used to purchase shelving and oversize storage units to provide adequate and appropriate storage for historical documents and other formats. In addition, funding will also be used to purchase UV filters to prevent light damage to all of the materials located in the room.

Grant: 193827 / PG-50463-09,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Assistance Grants,   Year Awarded: 2009

Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers' Project - Library Outreach Programs

Recipient: Rohan, Patricia (Kirkwood, MO 63122 USA) in affiliation with Kirkwood Public Library

Description: Our project would involve at least 5 programs covering the work of the Work Progress Administration and the Federal Writers. These programs would be offered to our community - adults, teens and children - and are planned so "history is refreshed, silent voices are heard and memories are renewed". Programs are planned to offer our residents opportunities to gather, listen, discuss and participate both at the library and within our community.

Grant: 194270 / LR-50036-09,   Division: Public Programs,   Program: Small Grants to Libraries: Soul of a People,   Year Awarded: 2009

Graduate Education in Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Recipient: Rice-Lively, Mary Lynn (Austin, TX 78701-1213 USA) in affiliation with University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX 78712 USA)

Goal: The graduate education of conservators and preservation administrators in the care of library and archival collections in the humanities.

Description: This project will continue to enhance the graduate education programs of the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record at the School of Information, The Univ. of Texas at Austin. The Kilgarlin Center is the most comprehensive education & training program in the nation for preservation administrators & conservators for library & archives collections. The Center's strength is producing knowledgeale, educated, persuasive professionals to lead at the institutional, regional, consortial, and associational levels to chart the course of library & archives preservation for the 21st century. The program focuses on the needs of collections significant for education & scholarly research in the humanities.

Grant: 189589 / PE-50019-08,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Education and Training,   Year Awarded: 2008

Regional Preservation Field Services for the Southeast

Recipient: Givens, Marlee Dorn (Atlanta, GA 30309 USA) in affiliation with Lyrasis (Atlanta, GA 30309-2955 USA)

Goal: A regional preservation field service program that provides preservation surveys, workshops, and educational materials to libraries, archives, and historical organizations in the Southeast.

Description: SOLINET proposes to provide preservation education and training, reference and information services, and consultations to libraries, archives, and cultural organizations in the Southeast, to improve the ability of institutions to preserve and provide access to information resources and collections. These institutions hold extensive and valuable resources collected over many years to support education, research, and community services in the humanities. Through the Preservation Field Services project, SOLINET will increase preservation knowledge and skills among staff at cultural organizations, provide support for effective preservation planning and management, and strengthen community and regional preservation networks. Project activities include face-to-face and web-based classes, presentations, reference services, disaster assistance, electronic information creation and distribution, and needs assessments.

Grant: 189582 / PE-50012-08,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation Education and Training,   Year Awarded: 2008

A Machine-Aided Back-of-the-Book Indexing System

Recipient: Juola, Patrick (Pittsburgh, PA 15282 USA) in affiliation with Duquesne University

Goal: Development and evaluation of a prototype system for helping indexers, including authors and publishers, produce traditional back-of-the-book indexes.

Description: We propose to develop and test a prototype system for helping indexers (including authors, scholars, and publishers) produce traditional back-of-the-book indexes. Using standard text analysis technology (including Latent Semantic Analysis, Named Entity Extraction, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, and other methods) we hope to identify, group, and present appropriate concepts for inclusion in an index and then automatically generate index anchors within the text itself. Human input will be possible -- and indeed, encouraged -- at any point in the process.

Grant: 189603 / PR-50020-08,   Division: Preservation and Access,   Program: Preservation and Access Research and Development,   Year Awarded: 2008