The Record - January 1998

Grants and Awards

NHPRC Meeting

Commission Approves Grants Totaling $2,308,182 for Electronic Records Projects, State Board Planning Grants, and Documentary Editions

At its meeting on November 18, 1997, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission recommended grants totaling $2,308,182 for 28 projects that will enhance our understanding of America's past. Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin, who is the Chairperson of the NHPRC, welcomed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court David Souter as a new member of the Commission, and also welcomed Roger A. Bruns as acting executive director.

The Commission reaffirmed its endorsement of the research agenda set forth in the publication A Research Issues in Electronic Records. Research-and-development grant applications relating to electronic records should discuss the proposed project's relationship to that agenda and provide justification for addressing any new research questions. The Commission also resolved that while it would impose no minimum limit on grant applications, grant requests for under $5,000 would normally meet with approval only upon demonstration of extraordinary need.

Acting executive director Bruns announced that the United States Information Agency has included, in its American Studies Collection, approximately 100 volumes from historical documentary collections funded by Commission grants. The American Studies Collection, a total of some 1,300 volumes on topics relating to the study of American civilization, will be placed in 57 participating university libraries around the world. The documentary volumes, which constitute a part of the collection known as "Documents of Democracy," were selected for inclusion by a panel of scholarly experts working in consultation with the Commission.

Chairperson Carlin announced the appointment of a search committee to select a new executive director for the Commission. Chaired by Deputy Archivist Lewis J. Bellardo, its members are Commissioners Charles T. Cullen, Anne R. Kenney, Howard Lowell, and Constance Schulz.

At the meeting, the Commission recommended that the Archivist make grants totaling $721,136 for five electronic records projects, $250,771 for nine state board planning grants, $1,284,319 for 13 founding-era documentary editing projects and subventions, and $51,956 for one level-two documentary editing project allowed early submission under extraordinary circumstances.

The Commission also selected the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University as the host institution for the its 1998-99 Fellowship in Archival Administration, and the Lucretia Mott Correspondence Project at Pomona College as the host project for its 1998-99 Fellowship in Historical Documentary Editing.

The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled for February 24, 1998. Application materials for all Commission grants, including fellowships, may be requested by telephone, fax, mail, or e-mail: Telephone: (202) 357-5010; FAX: (202) 357-5914; NHPRC, NARA, Washington, DC 20408-0001; e-mail: nhprc@nara.gov.

Electronic Records Projects

- Association of Research Libraries, Coalition for Networked Information, Washington, DC: A one-year grant of up to $20,000 for a project entitled Improved Access to Electronic Records, to develop, offer, and evaluate a pilot workshop that will bring together teams of archivists and information technologists to explore electronic records issues.

- Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: A 30-month grant of $105,845 for a project entitled "Preserving Electronic Records of Collaborative Processes," to conduct an analysis of recordkeeping practices in six private-sector environments with the goals of producing case studies, assessing the degree to which functional requirements for electronic recordkeeping are applicable in settings without highly structured business processes, developing guidelines for electronic recordkeeping in such settings, and publishing a monograph based on this study.

- Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN: A two-year grant of $90,031 for the Society's electronic records project, to establish electronic records pilot programs with two state agencies in order to evaluate the metadata the agencies produce, determine the applicability of that metadata to archival concerns, and establish a set of "best practices" and guidelines that will provide incentives for other state agencies to document their information systems and provide the basis for a functioning, sustainable electronic records program within the state archives.

- The Research Foundation of the State University of New York, Albany, NY: A two-year grant of $381,332 for a project entitled "Secondary Uses of Electronic Records," to develop guidelines to support and promote long-term preservation of and access to public electronic records of value to secondary users, including historians and other researchers. The project will examine the factors that contribute to or impede secondary use of records, then use applied research methodologies to assess technology tools, management strategies, and resource-sharing models for their potential to facilitate such access.

- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY: A two-year grant of up to $123,928 for project entitled "Archival Electronic Records Practice," to study the types of archival electronic records produced on the college level within a large university. The goal is to initiate discussions and provide recommendations that will form the basis for future efforts to implement best practices for electronic recordkeeping for Cornell's centralized university information system (Project 2000).

State Board Planning Grants

- Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board, Topeka, KS: A two-year grant of $55,815 for a strategic planning project to assess the board's mission and vision, evaluate two recent repository surveys, identify issues for further planning and prioritization, and establish task forces to develop specific strategies.

- South Carolina Historical Records Advisory Board, Columbia, SC: A two-year grant of $29,340 for a planning project to evaluate progress on the board's 1994 plan, publish and distribute a report and a revised plan based on this evaluation, reassess the board's own mission, develop criteria for evaluating progress on the revised plan, and sponsor workshops and conferences on historical records.

- Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, OH: A one-year grant of $6,686 for a planning project to enable the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board to hold quarterly meetings and continue its efforts to implement its current long-range plan.

- Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, MN: A three-year grant of $23,568 to enable the Minnesota Historical Records Advisory Board to continue its planning process and to support the implementation of identified priorities.

- Office of the Secretary of State, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, GA: A one-year grant of $21,762 for a planning project to develop minimum standards for records repositories, prepare an institutional self-assessment tool, create a resource manual to enable repositories to improve their records programs, conduct a pilot project to test the self-evaluation tool and training methods utilizing the resource manual, and prepare an updated version of the directory of state historical organizations and resources.

- New Jersey Historical Records Advisory Board, Trenton, NJ: An 18-month grant of $33,100 to produce a strategic plan for ensuring preservation and access to state historical records.

- Florida State Historical Records Advisory Board, Tallahassee, FL: A two-year grant of $15,500 toevaluate and revise its 1994 strategic plan in order to address new and changing issues faced by the state's archival and records community.

- Pennsylvania Historical Records Advisory Board, Harrisburg, PA: A 22-month grant of $45,157 to prepare a strategic plan addressing the identification, acquisition, preservation, and access of the state's historically valuable records.

- Connecticut State Library, Hartford, CT: A two-year grant of $19,843 to help the Connecticut State Historical Records Advisory Board improve the state's educational and training programs for the management of historical records.

Founding-Era Documentary
Editing Projects and Subventions

- Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI: A grant of $153,000 for The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution.

- Princeton University, Princeton, NJ: A grant of $147,363 for The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.

- Supreme Court Historical Society, Washington, DC: A grant of $205,740 for The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800.

- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A grant of $138,341 for The Papers of George Washington.

- The George Washington University, Washington, DC: A grant of up to $190,500 for The Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791.

- Yale University, New Haven, CT: A grant of $154,000 for The Papers of Benjamin Franklin.

- Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA: A grant of $126,875 for The Adams Papers.

- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A grant of up to $132,500 for The Papers of James Madison.

- State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Vol. 5.

- State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI: A subvention grant of $3,000 for The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Vol. 14 (reprint).

- State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI: A subvention grant of $3,000 for The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Vol. 15 (reprint).

- University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, Vol. 8.

- Yale University Press, New Haven, CT: A subvention grant of $10,000 for The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 34.

Level-Two Documentary Editing Projects (early submission)

- Queens College and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, New York, NY: A completion grant of $51,956 for The Papers of Robert Morris.

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY SYSTEM

JOHN F. KENNEDY LIBRARY
Columbia Point
Boston, MA 02125
(617) 929-4540
library@kennedy.nara.gov
Homepage: http://www.jfklibrary.org/

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a private, non-profit educational organization, administers and funds programs on behalf of the Kennedy Library. Scholars and students are invited to apply for support of their research and use of the archival, manuscript, and audiovisual holdings of the Library under the following programs. Only one grant or fellowship application can be submitted in a given year. Each application will be evaluated for support in all appropriate areas. Those received after a deadline will be considered in the next cycle.

Marjorie Kovler Fellowship. One per year. Current stipend of $2,500. Preference is given to research in the area of foreign intelligence and the presidency, or a related topic. Application deadline: March 15. Award announced: April 20.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Fellowship. One or two per year. Current stipend of up to $5,000. Preference is given to applicants specializing in Latin American or Western Hemisphere history or policy studies during the Kennedy Administration or the period from the Roosevelt through the Kennedy presidencies. Application deadline: August 15. Award announced: October 15.

Abba Schwartz Fellowship. One per year. Current stipend of $3,100. Preference is given to research on immigration, naturalization, or refugee policy. Application deadline: March 15. Award announced: May 1.

Theodore C. Sorensen Fellowship. One per year. Current stipend of $3,600. Preference is given to research on domestic policy, political journalism, polling, or press relations. Application deadline: March 15. Award announced: May 10.

Kennedy Research Grants. Several (10-15) per year. Range from $500 to $1,500. These can be on any topic relating to the Kennedy period or requiring use of the holdings. Preference is given to Ph.D. dissertation research, research in recently opened or relatively unused collections and the preparation of recent dissertations for publication, but all proposals are welcome. Application deadlines: March 15 for spring grants, August 15 for fall grants. Awards announced: April 20 and October 20.

Hemingway Research Grants. Several (4-8) per year. Range from $200 to $1,000. These are awarded to scholars requiring the use of the Hemingway Collection. Preference is given to dissertation research by Ph.D. candidates and research in recently opened or relatively unused portions of the collection, but all proposals are welcome. Application deadline: March 15. Awards announced: April 30.

For additional information, please contact:

Grant and Fellowship Coordinator
John F. Kennedy Library
Columbia Point
Boston, MA 02125-3313
Telephone 617-929-4500

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER LIBRARY
200 S.E. 4th
Abilene, KS 67410
(913) 263-4751

The Abilene Travel Grants Program was established by the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute in 1984 to aid scholars conducting primary research at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas. These grants help to defray travel and lodging costs. The program is made possible in large part by the financial support of the Eisenhower Foundation of Abilene, Kansas. Application deadlines are February 28th and September 30th each year. Applications should be sent to: Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, 1620 Eye Street NW, Suite 703, Washington, DC 20006

Fall 1997 Abilene Travel Grants recipients are:

Christian Acindor, U.S.-Haiti Relations from 1957-1968: Anti-Communism and Racial Diplomacy in the Age of National Liberations.

Carol Anderson, Ph.D., Eyes off the Prize: African-Americans, the United Nations, and the Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955.

Professor John B. Baylis, The Great Prize: The 1958 Anglo-American Atomic Energy Agreement.

Stephen B. Goddard, President Eisenhower and the Interstate Highway System.

W. Taylor Fain III, The United States, Great Britain, and the Persian-Gulf Region, 1951-1969.

GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY
1000 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(313) 741-2218

The Gerald R. Ford Foundation semi-annually awards grants of up to $2,000 to support research in the Ford Library's collections. For grant application forms and information, please contact Geir Gundersen, Gerald R. Ford Library, 1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 or call (313) 741-2218 Internet: geir.gundersen@fordlib.nara.gov. Application deadlines are March 15 and September 15. The recipients of the fall 1997 awards and their topics are:

Sharon Z. Alter ,William Rainey Harper College First Ladies as Activists and Leaders in the Contemporary Presidency: Betty Ford to Hillary Rodham Clinton

Larry Berman, University of California, Davis Imperfect Peace: America's Disengagement from Vietnam

Barbara C. Burrell, University of Wisconsin-Extension Wives in Presidential Campaigns

Kirsten E. Gardner, University of Cincinnati Breast Cancer in Twentieth Century American Culture

E. Stanly Godbold, Jr. Mississippi State University A Biography of Jimmy Carter Timothy M. Resh Texas A&M University The Evolution of Gerald R. Ford's Speechwriting Staff

James Spiller, University of Wisconsin, Madison America at the Peripheries: U.S. Space and Antarctic Exploration and the Cultural Politics of Federal Big Science