Volume 18, Number 4-5
Aug-Sep 1994

Grants: Money Comes from All Quarters

For the last year or so, Washington granting agencies have not had enough grant applications. If they can't use up all their money, they may have to send it back where it came from, and they may not get as much next year.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities, Division of Preservation and Access (Rm. 802, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20506, 202/606-8570, fax 606-8639, e-mail NEHPRES@gwuvm.gwu.edu) funds preservation microfilming, treatment of endangered materials for which copying or reformatting is not advisable, education and training projects on a regional or national level, preparation of statewide preservation plans, R&D projects, and more. Deadlines have been revised: they are Nov. 1 and July 1, for projects that begin July and May.
• The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) has three application deadlines a year, each for a different set of activities, some of which involve preservation. October 1 is the deadline for state historical records coordinators and boards for state regrants to local organizations to preserve and make available their records. June 1, 1995, is the deadline for "Priority One Activities," which include state strategic plans that involve both preservation and publication of documents. Contact NHPRC - NP, Room 607, National Archives Building, Washington, DC 20408 (202/501-5610, Fax 501-5601).
• Texas, like Virginia, finances the preservation of local records partly through a records management fee collected when documents are filed. The Winter 1993 Southwestern Archivist (p. 35) reports that the proceeds were not being collected and distributed as the 1991 law specified. The Texas Attorney General, in response to queries from three counties, issued two Letter Opinions to clarify (and, incidentally, to stiffen) the requirement to collect a fee for records management and preservation services performed by the county clerk.
• Washington State also has a fee that local governments collect on each recording transaction, which is used to preserve the records. Conservation Associates of the Pacific Northwest (a professional association) provides consulting services to a number of clients, including these local government offices, at $75/hour. For more information, contact Randolph Stilson at 206/357-6757 (phone & fax) or e-mail <stilsonr@elwha.evergreen.edu>.
• Yale's newly established Collections Care Program in the Library's Preservation Department recently received its first gift, from Thomas H. O'Flaherty and his wife Ellen, both of whom have advanced degrees from Yale. It will be used to set up a new book repair (collections care) unit under the supervision of a conservator, and to establish a Preservation Fund under their name, the income from which will support the needs of the program. The gift will be matched by the Proctor & Gamble Fund. (This information from the Spring 1994 issue of Yale University Library's newsletter, Nota Bene.)