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Vol. 26:4 ISSN 0160-8460 December 1998
Commission Recommends Grants Totaling $2,642,341
At its meeting on November 17, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission recommended grants totaling $2,642,341 for 26 projects that will improve the understanding of America's past. NHPRC Chairman John W. Carlin noted that the Federal budget for Fiscal Year 1999 includes $10 million for NHPRC grants, of which $4 million is a Congressionally-directed grant to the Center for Jewish History. At a special noontime ceremony, the Chairman presented the Commission's 1998 Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Frank G. Burke.
Chairman Carlin also welcomed the Commission's new Executive Director, Ann C. Newhall. Ms. Newhall introduced Mark Conrad, the Commission's new Director for Technology Initiatives, and also informed the Commission that Richard A. Cameron, its Director for State Programs, was recently made a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists.
The educational component of the Commission meeting dealt with copyright issues affecting the NHPRC and the projects it sponsors. Chris Runkel of NARA's Office of General Counsel, joined by Melissa Smith-Levine, Legal Advisor of the Library of Congress' National Digital Library Project, Nancy Smith of NARA's Office of Presidential Libraries, and Elizabeth Pugh, General Counsel of the Library of Congress, led a discussion of the issues involved in securing permission to publish from manuscript repositories, making NHPRC-sponsored editions available in online editions, and using material from NHPRC-sponsored volumes in secondary works.
At its meeting, the Commission recommended that the Archivist make grants totaling up to $1,362,863 for eight founding-era documentary editing projects and for the publication subvention of seven volumes produced by those projects; up to $982,042 for nine state board planning, implementation, and regrant projects, as well as collaborative projects; and $297,436 for two electronic records and technologies projects.
The Commission also selected the Samuel Gompers papers project at the University of Maryland and the Margaret Sanger papers project at New York University as the host projects for its 1999-2000 Fellowships in Historical Documentary Editing, with the Sanger project's selection dependent on the availability of sufficient FY 1999 funds. It also selected the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University and the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College as the host institutions for its 1999-2000 Fellowships in Archival Administration, with Fort Lewis College's selection dependent on the availability of sufficient FY 1999 funds.
The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for February 24, 1999. The next deadline for grant applications is June 1, 1999, for consideration at the Commission's November 1999 meeting.
Founding-Era Documentary Editing Projects and Subventions:
- Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI: A grant of $160,000 to continue editing a selective book edition of The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.
- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ: A grant of $154,731 to support its work on a comprehensive book edition of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.
- Supreme Court Historical Society, Washington, DC: A grant of $216,150 to edit a selective book edition of The Documentary History of the Supreme Court, 1789-1800.
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A grant of $143,661 to edit a comprehensive book edition of The Papers of George Washington.
- Yale University, New Haven, CT: A grant of $154,000 to assist its work on a comprehensive book edition of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin.
- The George Washington University, Washington, DC: A grant of $187,140 to continue editing The Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791.
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA:
A grant of $139,200 to continue work on a comprehensive book edition of The Papers of James Madison. - Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA: A grant of up to $140,832 to support the preparation of a comprehensive book edition of The Adams Papers.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of James Madison, Presidential Series, Vol. 4.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, Vol. 3.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, Vol. 4.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, Vol. 8.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, Vol. 9.
- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $7,149 for The Papers of George Washington, one-volume diaries abridgement.
- Yale University Press, New Haven, CT: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 35.
Chairman John W. Carlin and Executive Director Ann C. Newhall. Photograph by Amy Young, NARA.
State Board Planning, Implementation, and Regrant Projects; Collaborative Projects:
- California State Archives, Sacramento, CA: A 21-month grant of $59,020 for its SHRAB Statewide Planning Project to: 1) investigate the programs of the state archives to determine the condition and needs of state records; 2) survey counties and cities to determine the condition and needs of local government records; 3) survey a representative number of the state's historical records repositories to determine the condition and needs of non-governmental records; and 4) develop a strategic plan, including a mission statement, goals and objectives, and funding priorities.
- Delaware Public Archives, Dover, DE: An 18-month grant of $17,553 for its SHRAB Strategic Planning Project to develop a strategic plan with emphasis on possible cooperative opportunities related to the completion of a new archives facility.
- Idaho State Historical Society, Boise, ID: A two-year grant of $64,200 for its SHRAB Records Assessment and Strategic Planning Project to assess the status of records in the state and prepare a strategic plan that addresses identified needs.
- Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL: A two-year grant of $58,291 for its SHRAB Strategic Planning Project to identify and address records needs and issues within the state.
- Massachusetts Historical Records Advisory Board, Boston, MA: A two-year grant of up to $150,000 for its SHRAB Collaborative Action Regrant Project to help local repositories increase the accessability of historical records, improve the documentation of Massachusetts history, develop networks that can have a long-term impact on records and the historical records community, identify permanent funding sources for outreach and grant programs, and revise the strategic plan.
- New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board, Santa Fe, NM: A two-year grant of $156,499 ($25,000 matching) and an additional conditional matching grant of $25,000 for its SHRAB Plan Implementation and Regrant Project to implement the board's strategic plan, develop and conduct a training program to address the needs of repositories throughout the state, and support projects to improve preservation and access to historical records in New Mexico's repositories.
- New York State Historical Records Advisory Board, Albany, NY: A two-year grant of $156,698 for its SHRAB Documentation Demonstration Project to test a practical approach to create topical documentation plans, engage records creators and users in the documentation process, take action to preserve the most important records, and raise public awareness of the value of an even and equitable historical record.
- Wisconsin State Historical Records Advisory Board, Madison, WI: A 30-month grant of up to $94,781 for its Archives Repositories Assessment and Mentoring Project to develop and coordinate a repository assistance and mentoring program and to strengthen the board's partnerships with statewide associations of records creators, keepers, and users.
- American Association for State and Local History, Nashville, TN: A two-year grant of up to $200,000 to work with the Council of State Historical Records Coordinators to develop a national conference on archival continuing education that specifically addresses the needs of small historical records repositories, and to support the Council's work to identify and share best practices among state boards, state archives, and the professional organizations serving historical records repositories.
Electronic Records and Technologies Projects:
- Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka, KS: A two-year grant of $74,996 for its Electronic Records Applied Research Project to: 1) conduct applied electronic records management research by testing key elements of the NHPRC-funded electronic records management and preservation guidelines; 2) evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the guidelines; and 3) modify the guidelines based upon the research results.
- University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC: An 18-month grant of $222,440 for the Model Editions Partnership to: 1) complete the markup guidelines, reference guide, and encoding report for electronic historical editions; 2) publish five mini-editions to explore the effectiveness of automated conversion; 3) prepare and publish two mini-editions to demonstrate the interoperability of SGML digital library resources; 4) develop a series of utilities to automate the conversion of project word processing files into SGML files; and 5) prepare and publish a study describing the uses of documentary materials in an electronic environment.
