Commission Recommends $7 Million In Grants
Press Release · Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Washington, DC

At its spring meeting, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded 88 grants of $7,038,063 for projects in 36 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Ranging from a Native American archives on the Kodiak archipelago in Alaska to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, these grants represent the breadth of historical records preservation and access across the United States.

Grants totaling $3.5 million were awarded for 38 archival projects. Twenty-five went to basic projects, including a project to process records of the territorial era in Idaho; the papers of S.J. Perelman, the screenwriter for the Marx Brothers, at Brown University; the records of the American Field Service, the volunteer ambulance corps that served in both World Wars; and many others. Thirteen detailed processing projects support the records of the American Civil Liberty Union at Princeton University; salvaging the records of Baltimore from 1729 to the present; and the American Heritage Center’s collections relating to the Great Depression.

Grants totaling $2.8 million were awarded for 24 documentary editing projects—from the Dolley Madison Digital Edition to the Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Seven subventions were awarded to university presses to defray the cost of publishing volumes of the papers of James Madison, George Washington, John Jay, Andrew Jackson, Samuel Gompers, Marcus Garvey, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Three grants were awarded for Professional Development projects and one Strategies and Tools project to support an open-source crowd-sourcing tool at George Mason University that will allow researchers to contribute online transcriptions and annotations to the Papers of the War Department. Fifteen State and National Archival Partnership grants will go to help state archives and historical records advisory boards carry out statewide initiatives, including several regrant projects to small and mid-sized archives. A complete list of all grants is attached.

Kathleen Williams, Executive Director of the NHPRC, presented the grant applications and policy issues to the full Commission, which also received a report from the Atlanta History Center on its previously-funded project to process its backlog of collections. The Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, is the Chairman of the Commission. The NHPRC is the sole federal funding agency whose only focus is the documentary heritage of the United States. Established in 1934, it has awarded grants for preserving, publishing, and providing access to vital historical documents.

NHPRC Grants - May 2010

Archives-Basic Processing

Grants to reveal hidden collections in archives and to create archives programs.

AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc.
New York, NY                                   $61,839
To survey, process, and make accessible 178 linear feet of World War I and World War II records from the American Field Service, founded as the volunteer ambulance corps with the French Armies and later reactivated on behalf of the Allied Armies.

Autry National Center of the American West
Los Angeles, CA                                $98,900
To process and catalog 400 collections at the Braun Research Library and 80 collections at the Autry Research Library, documenting the American west, including the papers of Gene Autry and the George Bird Grinnell diaries of life among the Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.

Bishop Paiute Tribe
Bishop, CA                             $14,372
To support an evaluation of the record needs of the tribe and prepare a plan for developing an archives and records management program.

Brown University
Providence, RI                                    $141,455
To survey its backlog and prepare catalog records and finding aids for 892 collections, totaling 6,500 linear feet, including the papers of S.J. Perelman, screenwriter for the Marx Brothers; the American Mathematical Society; the papers of Charles Evans Hughes; and many others.

Connecticut Historical Society
Hartford, CT                           $95,004
To catalog and make available 4,200 manuscript and archival collections from 1681-1978, to create two onsite databases, and identify items for inclusion in Connecticut History Online.

Highland Park Historical Society
Highland Park, IL                   $86,414
To institute a formal archives, starting with over 1,000 cubic feet of materials, documenting the history of the city of Highland Park.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, CA                  $131,868
To preserve and make accessible 550 linear feet of GLBT records or 50 percent of the institution’s unprocessed backlog.

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas
Austin, TX                              $50,940
To establish a Library and Archives at the Goodwill Computer Museum, an educational and research institution, for collecting the documentation related to vintage computer equipment.

Idaho State Historical Society
Boise, ID                                 $54,923          
To identify, arrange, describe, and promote the use of Territorial Era records housed at the Society, and to survey as many as 100 other repositories in the state in order to identify related materials.

Luther College
Decorah, IA                            $119,898
In partnership with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, to survey and make accessible significant Norwegian-American records housed at the two institutions.

Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, MN                           $193,357
To process 4,600 cubic feet of unprocessed archival backlog, including government records and manuscript collections.

Native Village of Afognak
Kodiak, AK                            $45,000
To establish an archives program for the Village and provide archival training for staff members who will have oversight of this program.

Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge
Stockbridge, MA                    $108,213
To process and make available approximately 725 cubic feet of material on American artist Norman Rockwell and other 20th century American artists.

Oregon Historical Society
Portland, OR                           $84,480
To provide online access to 4,500 manuscript collections on the settlement of the West and the development of the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Ashland, OR                           $139,435
To modernize its Archives and make archival resources available online for 683 cubic feet from one of the oldest and largest regional theaters in the United States.

Paul Taylor Dance Foundation
New York, NY                                   $66,127
To process and create online finding aids for the backlog of records for this world renowned American dance company and leading choreographer.

Pennsylvania Heritage Society
Harrisburg, PA                                    $166,298
On behalf of Pennsylvania State Archives, to expand public access to state government records by creating descriptions for 2,000 series of records totaling 26,000 cubic feet.

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY                                    $52,001
To process and describe 3,041 cubic feet of unprocessed institutional collections and make them available on the Internet. 

Stanford University
Stanford, CA                          $111,784
To arrange and describe unprocessed materials from 88 collections within its Archive of Recorded Sound of spoken word recordings and music.

Tarrant County College District
Fort Worth, TX                       $30,606
To process the backlog of archival materials and assist in the establishment of a College Archives.

Tulane University, Amistad Research Center
New Orleans, LA                    $73,840
To inventory audio-visual materials on the history, culture, and life experiences of African Americans and other ethnic minorities within its collections.

University of Oregon
Eugene, OR                            $123,118
On behalf of the Northwest Digital Archives, to assist seven small liberal arts colleges in Oregon and Washington with archival program development and to make their collections known to researchers.

Utah State Archives and Records Services
Salt Lake City, UT                  $80,600
To inventory and prepare descriptive information for 73,480 microfiche sheets containing the records of the state legislature, the courts, and many executive branch agencies.

Wright State University
Dayton, OH                            $129,694
To process and make available the records of the Dayton Daily News, from 1902-1990, including 3,000 cubic feet of photographs, microfilm, maps, and bound volumes of newspapers.

Wiyot Tribe
Loleta, CA                              $50,000
To continue its efforts to establish a sustainable tribal archives program by preparing a collecting policy and records retention schedules, appraising records, conducting oral histories, and providing additional training to the tribal archivist.

Archives-Detailed Processing

These awards support detailed processing and preservation of collections of national significance.

Amherst College
Amherst, MA                          $56,744
To process and make available the papers of three notable figures in post-World War II international politics and diplomacy: Charles R. Kades, who helped draft the constitution for Japan; Karl Lowenstein, who developed the post-war constitution and civil administration in Germany; and Willard R. Thorp, Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs under President Truman, and one of the principal architects of the Marshall Plan.

Eleutherian Mills-Hagley Foundation
Wilmington, DE                                  $112,203
To process and make available the papers of interior designer William Pahlmann (1900-1987), a leader in department and specialty store design.

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA                                         $24,750
To arrange, describe, and preserve the photographs of Oliver F. Atkins and Arthur E. Scott.  The collections contain 60,000 images of important 20th century political figures, historical events taking place in Washington, DC, and scenes of American life.

Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA                                 $100,229
To process and make available records from 14 collections of personal papers and organizational records that document electoral politics, government service, community organizing, and human rights efforts.  The collections total 1,376 linear feet and date from the post-Civil War period through the 20th century.

Indiana University
Bloomington, IN                     $59,285
To process and make available the Senatorial papers of Birch Bayh, who served in the Congress as Senator from Indiana from 1962-1980.

Kansas State Historical Society
Topeka, KS                             $73,264
To process the records of the Menninger Foundation, the premier psychiatric hospital and mental health research institution during the first half of the 20th century, and the papers of its president, Roy Menninger.

Maryland State Archives
Annapolis, MD                                   $121,840
In partnership with the City of Baltimore, to prepare improved descriptive information for the records of Baltimore from 1729 to the present, which total over 30,000 cubic feet, in an online finding aid.

Princeton University
Princeton, NJ                          $122,848
To process 1,965 linear feet of records of the American Civil Liberties Union, which consists of national and regional records, 1960-1990.

Research Foundation of SUNY
Albany, NY                            $58,380
To process and make available the papers of novelist William Kennedy, scientist Vincent Schaefer, and death penalty historian M. Watt Espy.

San Jose University Research Foundation
San Jose, CA                           $99,709
To process and create online finding aids for the photographic collections of John C. Gordon and Ted Sahl documenting the social history of San Jose.

University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH                                    $61,287
To process and make available the papers of Theodore M. Berry, a civil rights pioneer, activist, and first African American mayor of Cincinnati.

University of Texas, Pan American
Edinburg, TX                          $61,695
To process and make available the Congressional papers of Eligio “Kika” de la Garza, who represented the 15th Congressional District of Texas, 1965-1996.

University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY                          $197,400
On behalf of its American Heritage Center, to process and make available EAD finding aids for 41 collections relating to the Great Depression.   The collections total 2,288 cubic feet and document areas such as anti-trust activities, the New Deal, agriculture and ecology, business, public works, journalism, and entertainment.

State and National Archival Partnership Grants

Projects that strengthen archives and historical records programs in each of the states and build a national archival network.

Alabama Department of Archives & History
Montgomery, AL                         $70,000
To support basic activities, sponsor a statewide conference of circuit court officials where archival training will be offered, and provide a regrant program that will award up to 25 grants to local governments and historical records repositories.

State Historical Society of Iowa
Des Moines, IA                                   $11,824
To support basic activities, training sessions, and archival participation in statewide emergency preparedness and response planning.

Maine State Archives
Augusta, ME                                 $69,566
To support basic activities, conduct six workshops on various archival topics, carry out a program to assist local repositories with cataloging and digitizing Civil War materials so that they can be used by the state’s students, and continue a regrant program focusing on the needs of small and medium-sized institutions. 

Maryland State Archives
Annapolis, MD                                   $7,658
To support basic activities, a needs assessment survey of 400 repositories in the state, and a series of emergency preparedness workshops.

Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Boston, MA                            $20,000
To support basic activities, three regional focus group meetings with stakeholders who will participate in strategic planning efforts, and a forum to introduce the goals of the new strategic plan.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Lansing, MI                            $37,310
To support basic activities and to catalog collections at six of the state’s repositories in order to provide greater access to a variety of archival holdings.

Missouri Office of the Secretary of State
Jefferson City, MO                 $67,808
To support basic activities, a series of 10 workshops related to records preservation and description, and a regrant program that will support up to 30 institutions in their efforts to preserve and provide access to historical records.

Montana Historical Society
Helena, MT                             $16,640
To support basic activities, provide workshops and a training scholarship, and continue its successful Traveling Student Archivist program.

New York State Education Department       
Albany, NY                            $59,956
To support basic activities and the development of online archival program assessment tools geared toward small and mid-sized historical records repositories. Tools will include instructional materials, document templates, suggested resources and actions to address weaknesses, and five instructional videos. 

Nevada State Library and Archives
Carson City, NV                                 $38,675
To support basic activities and a regrant program that will provide funding to museums, libraries, archives and other historical records repositories to digitize historical documents, create metadata, and make digital images available on their websites.

Ohio Historical Society
Columbus, OH                                     $13,623
To support basic activities, provide electronic records workshops, and print a brochure highlighting the importance of public records.

Pennsylvania Heritage Society
Harrisburg, PA                                    $68,550
To support basic activities, a series of workshops, and an Itinerant Archivist program that will help five of the Commonwealth’s counties identify their unique records needs and provide customized solutions.

South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development
Pierre, SD                                $4,578
To support basic activities and a regrant program aimed at providing assistance with institutional assessments, training, and the purchase of archival supplies.

Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Austin, TX                              $20,000
To support basic activities, promote the work of the board at meetings of constituent organizations, and continue to gather information about the needs of records repositories across the state.

State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Madison, WI                           $20,000
To support basic activities, the preparation of a strategic plan for 2012-2016, a survey to identify the needs of repositories with electronic records and digital collections, and workshops on archives management.

Publishing Historical Records

Projects that document major historical figures, and important eras and social movements in the history of the nation.

The Selected Papers of Jane Addams             $75,310
Duke University
Durham, NC
Editorial work on volume 3 (1889 – 1900), which covers the first decade of Hull House, the Chicago settlement house founded by Addams in 1889.  Addams is regarded by historians as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. 

The Papers of Jefferson Davis                                    $75,269
Rice University
Houston, TX
Production work on volume 13 (1871 – 1879), and editorial work on volume 14 (1880 – 1889), the final chronological volume in the edition.

Frederick Douglass Papers                            $80,101
Indiana University
Indianapolis, IN
Production work on The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, and editorial work on volume 2 of the Correspondence Series, and the Essays, Editorials, and Other Writings Series.

Thomas A. Edison Papers Project                  $133,845
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ
Production work on volume 7 and editorial work on volume 8, as well as preparation of a comprehensive digital edition of documents from outside repositories. 

Freedmen and Southern Society                     $175,845
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
Editorial work on Land and Labor, 1866-1867 (Series 3, Volume 2), and Law and Justice (Series 4).  This edition will document the emancipation process.

Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers     $79,560
Regents of the University of California
Los Angeles, CA
Production work on volume 8, which will cover the Garvey movement in Africa (1913-1921), as well as production work on volume 11 (1911-1920), and editorial work on volumes 12 and 13  (1920-1940), all of which will document the Garvey movement in the Caribbean.
 
Emma Goldman Papers                                 $204,260
Regents of the University of California
Berkeley, CA
Production work on volumes 3 (Light and Shadows, 1910-1916) and 4 (The War Years, 1917-1919), the final volumes in this edition. 

Samuel Gompers Papers                                $100,027          
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
Production work on volume 12 (The Last Years, 1922-1924), as well as editorial work on the cumulative index and the biographical dictionary.

The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant                      $66,426
Ulysses S. Grant Association
Starkville, MS
Production work on the supplementary volume 32 and editorial work on Grant’s Memoirs.

The Papers of Andrew Jackson                       $180,273
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
Production work on volume 8 (1830), and editorial work on volume 9 (1831).  These volumes will cover the early years of Jackson’s presidency.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers          $119,743
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Editorial work on volumes 7 (1961 – 1962), 8 (1963), 9 (1964), and 10 (1965).  These volumes will document King’s work during the height of the civil rights movement.

The Papers of Abraham Lincoln                     $143,446
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
Springfield, IL
Editorial work on a comprehensive digital edition of the papers of Abraham, Lincoln.

Dolley Madison Digital Edition                      $67,269
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Preparation of a comprehensive digital edition that will include transcriptions of Dolley Madison’s accessioned letters, both incoming and outgoing, as well as all of her known poetry, invitations, recipes, and inventories.

The Papers of George C. Marshall                 $44,000
George C. Marshall Foundation
Lexington, VA
 Editorial work on the manuscript for volume 6 (January 1947 – September 1950) and volume 7 (October 1950 – October 1959), the final chronological volume. These volumes will document Marshall’s work as Secretary of State.

Clarence Mitchell, Jr. Papers                         $77,074
SUNY College at Old Westbury
Old Westbury, NY 
Production work on volumes 3 (1946-1950) and 4 (1951-1954), and editorial work on volume 5 (1955-1960).  Clarence Mitchell served on the Negro Employment and Training Branch of the National Defense Advisory Commission, the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 

The Correspondence of James K. Polk                       $70,280
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
Editorial work on volume 12 (1847), the penultimate volume in this edition. 

Presidential Recordings Project                      $130,000
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Editorial work on thematic digital editions that will present Lyndon Johnson’s conversations regarding the War on Poverty, Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War.

Ah Quin Diaries                                  $99,500
California State University
San Marcos, CA
Editorial work on the diaries of Ah Quin.  Born in China in 1848, Ah Quin came to the United States in 1867.  He subsequently worked as a houseboy and eventually became a labor broker and merchant.  Ah Quin provided liaison between the Chinese and American communities in legal and other matters.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers                        $250,000
George Washington University
Washington, DC
Production work on volume 2 (1949-1952) and editorial work on volume 3 (1953-1956). 

Selected Papers of Margaret Sanger                           $116,993
New York University
New York, NY
Production work on volume 3 (The Great Liberator, 1940-1966), and editorial work on volume 4 (The Global Movement, 1919-1959), the final volume of this edition, which will deal with Sanger’s promotion of birth control outside the United States.

Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony         $205,000
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ
Completion of volume 6 (1895 – 1906), the final volume of this edition, which documents the work of these noted reformers.

Howard Thurman Papers                               $126,320
Morehouse College
Atlanta, GA
Completion of volumes 2 (1937 – 1943), 3 (1944 – 1953), 4 (1954 -1964), and 5 (1965-1981).  Howard Thurman was a noted theologian with a wide influence. 

The Papers of the War Department                $90,282
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Preparation of a comprehensive digital edition of the records of the War Department, 1784-1800.  During these years, the War Department expended about 70 per cent of the federal budget, and was a major consumer of both agricultural and manufactured goods.  It administered veterans’ benefits, handled relations with Native Americans, and was largely responsible for governing America’s frontier communities.

Walt Whitman & Reconstruction                     $86,142
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE
Preparation of a comprehensive digital edition of Whitman’s correspondence during the Reconstruction era.  During the Civil War, Whitman worked for the Army Paymaster and spent his spare time in army hospitals visiting wounded soldiers. In the years after the Civil War, Whitman held a succession of Federal government jobs, and published two editions of Leaves of Grass.     

Publication Subventions

Grants to publishers to help defray the printing costs of individual volumes of documentary editions.

Duke University                                              $10,000
Durham, NC
The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. XI
This volume, the first of five in the Caribbean Series, will document the Garvey movement in the Caribbean Basin from May 1910 to July 1920.  This volume will cover Garvey’s travels around the Caribbean and Central America, which persuaded him that black people had to take united action to better their lot. 

University of Illinois                          $3,500
Champaign-Urbana, IL
Samuel Gompers Papers, Vol. 12
This volume will cover 1922 through 1924, the final months of Gompers’ life.  This period witnessed major strikes in the coal and railroad industries.  Gompers remained active in union affairs for most of these months.  He conducted an unsuccessful effort to organize a women’s industrial department in the American Federation of Labor.

University of Tennessee                                  $8,000
Knoxville, TN
Papers of Andrew Jackson, Vol. 8
Volume 8 will cover 1830.  It will shed new light on Jackson’s presidential administration.  Documents reveal that Jackson took a close interest in administrative details.

University of Virginia Press                $10,000
Charlottesville, VA
Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, Vol. 9
This volume will cover the months from February through June 1805.  During this period, Madison focused much of his attention on threats to commerce, especially those arising from the Napoleonic war.

University of Virginia Press                $10,000
Charlottesville, VA
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Vol. 2
Volume 2 will cover the period from 1949 through 1952.  During these years, Eleanor Roosevelt continued to serve as a delegate to the United Nations.  She worked for social justice, opposed McCarthyism, and campaigned for Helen Gahagan Douglas against Richard Nixon, and for Adlai Stevenson in the 1952 presidential election. 

University of Virginia Press                $10,000
Charlottesville, VA
Selected Papers of John Jay, Vol. 2
This volume covers the period from early 1780 through mid 1782, the period of Jay’s mission to Spain.  From Spain, Jay sought recognition of American independence, a treaty of alliance, and financial aid.  But the Spanish refused to treat him as an accredited diplomat. 

University of Virginia Press                $10,000
Charlottesville, VA
Papers of George Washington, Presidential Series, Vol. 16
During the months from May to September 1794, Washington worked to maintain American neutrality toward Britain and France, but also planned coastal fortifications and naval construction in case America became embroiled in the war between those powers.

Professional Development

These projects improve the training and education of professionals in the archival and historical publishing communities. 

Sila M. Calderón Foundation  
Rio Pedras, Puerto Rico                      $18,916
To support an assessment of the educational and training needs of the archival community in Puerto Rico.

Council of State Archivists
Iowa City, IA                         $87,250
To support an 18-month project to conduct an enhanced survey of state archives and state historical records advisory boards and to prepare a “State of the State Archives” report for release in early 2011.

Municipal Clerks’ Education Foundation
Rancho Cucamonga, CA                    $20,163
To support free online publication of technical bulletins that will provide municipal and county officials with basic guidelines for caring for historical records.

Strategies and Tools for Archives and Historical Publishing Projects

These projects develop new strategies and tools that can improve the preservation, public discovery, or use of historical records.

George Mason University
Fairfax, VA                             $69,281
To support implementation and user testing of an open-source, online tool that researchers can use to contribute transcriptions and annotations to web-accessible images of historical documents.  This crowdsourcing tool will be tested on the Papers of the War Department and collections at the Independence Seaport Museum and the Minnesota Historical Society.

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