Blog and Newsletter

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services is now accepting FY 2022 proposals for National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) and the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program (LB21). 

Applicants have through September 24, 2021, to submit their two-page preliminary proposals.

The National Leadership Grants for Libraries program supports projects that address critical needs of the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance practice in these professions to strengthen library and archival services for the American public. Successful proposals will generate results such as new models, new tools, research findings, services, practices, or alliances that will be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and leverage the benefits of federal investment.

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program supports the development of a diverse workforce of librarians and archivists to better meet the information needs of communities being served. Program goals include recruiting, training, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce of library and archives professionals; developing faculty, library, and archives leaders by increasing the institutional capacity of libraries, archives, and of graduate programs related to library and information science; and enhancing the training and professional development of the library and archival workforce to meet the needs of their communities.

Applicants should review the notices of funding opportunity carefully and reach out to IMLS staff members listed on the NLG-L and LB21 webpages with any questions. A free on-demand informational webinar will be made available in the coming weeks on the IMLS website.

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) today announced a new three-year cooperative agreement to provide museums with collections conservation assessments. 

Over the next three years, the Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program will support general conservation assessments for 300 small and mid-sized museums in the United States. Participants will work with conservation and preservation professionals to receive prioritized recommendations for improved collections care.

Over 300 small and mid-sized museums have received a CAP assessment since FAIC began administering the program in 2016.

“Preserving museum collections is a core mission of IMLS, and our newly reminted partnership with the FAIC and their established excellence and leadership in conservation guarantees access to outstanding professional help for small and mid-size museums,” said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper.

“We are honored to continue working with IMLS to support smaller museums around the country,” stated FAIC Executive Director Eryl P. Wentworth. “The CAP program is often a critical step for museums committed to improving collections stewardship.”

The three-year agreement also provides dedicated support for Emergency CAPs to support institutions whose collections are affected by disasters.

Applications are currently open for the next round of program participants, with a deadline of September 15, 2021. Detailed application information is available at www.culturalheritage.org/cap.

Are you interested in learning more about Museums for All, an initiative dedicated to expanding community access? Join staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children’s Museums on July 13 at 2 p.m. Eastern to learn more about how and why over 675 museums participate in the program. Find more information and register to attend the informational webinar on the IMLS website.

$15 Million in American Rescue Plan Act Grants Now Available for Museum and Library Services Applications for Pandemic Response Funding Due June 28, 2021

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced a new funding opportunity for museums, libraries, and Native American and Native Hawaiian communities. The $15 million federal investment will provide direct support to address community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting with recovery. "Museums and libraries have stepped up to provide their communities with essential services and access to all kinds of health, job, government, educational, social, and cultural resources," said IMLS Director Crosby Kemper. “As places begin to reopen, these institutions will continue to be trusted spaces dedicated to sustaining communities. This funding will allow them to continue lifting up their communities and enabling people to thrive.” The American Rescue Plan Act allocated funding to IMLS to enable libraries, museums, federally recognized Tribes, and nonprofit organizations serving Native Hawaiians by supporting the vital programs and services they provide to their communities. Proposals to this grant program may continue, enhance, or expand existing programs and services, or they may launch new ones to address emergent needs and unexpected hardships. Reflecting IMLS’s goals of championing lifelong learning, strengthening community engagement, and advancing collections stewardship and access, successful projects for this grant program will: Advance digital inclusion through approaches that may include, but are not limited to, improving digital platforms, online services, connectivity (e.g., hotspots), and creating digital literacy programs, as well as creating new processes and procedures needed to sustain a robust online environment. Support hiring new staff and training or retraining existing staff to ensure a workforce that has the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities. Build community-focused partnerships, networks, and alliances with organizations with an emphasis on complementing, rather than duplicating, resources and services. Support the creation and delivery of online and in-person educational, interpretive, and experiential programs and exhibitions for learners of all ages. Provide trusted spaces for community engagement and dialogue to foster recovery and rebuilding. Support efforts to collect, preserve, manage, and interpret documentary sources and tangible objects representing all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic experience. The deadline for submitting applications is June 28, 2021, with award announcements anticipated in October 2021. A free informational webinar will be made available on-demand on the IMLS website. For More Information To apply for this grant, as well as other available IMLS funding opportunities, please visit the IMLS website.

The New England Archivists Inclusion and Diversity Committee is pleased to announce the second iteration of our contingent employment survey.  Building on the work of the first NEA contingent employment survey in 2016, we want to further understand contingent employment in the archival field.  What has changed in the past five years? What has stayed the same? How can professional organizations like NEA support contingently employed archival workers? 

The survey is available here. It will remain open through June 30, 2021.  You do not need to be a member of New England Archivists to participate in the study. 

You are eligible to participate in this study if you are an archival worker or former archival worker and:

• you have been contingently employed in New England in the past ten years (2011-2021)

OR

• you have been contingently employed anywhere in the United States in the last ten years (2011-2021) AND you are currently living or working in New England. 

For the purposes of this study, an archival worker is a professional, paraprofessional, or other employee who spends at least 25% of their time on archival work, regardless of their job title, educational background, or the type of institution where they work. 

For the purposes of this study, contingent employment includes temporary and term positions, grant-funded positions, part-time positions, positions without timely or reliable renewal of contract, and any employment without benefits colleagues at the same institution enjoy (e.g. vacation time, health insurance, retirement contributions). 

Please share widely, especially with colleagues who are not members of professional organizations and people who have left the archival field. 

If you have questions about the survey, please reach out to the chair of the survey task force, Stephanie Bredbenner, at diversity@newenglandarchivists.org.

Occupational therapy students at Grand Valley State University are conducting a survey to identify how universal design principles are applied in museum settings across the United States. The results of this study will inform re-design efforts at the Grand Rapids Public Museum to create functional and welcoming spaces for people of all abilities. Findings will also be shared on a national scale through publication.

This survey takes approximately 10-minutes to complete. To participate, you must be employed at a museum located in the United States and have direct knowledge of policies related to accessibility. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at Grand Valley State University. Protocol: # 21-223-H

To access the survey, click here.

MuseumDev offers online professional development courses for museum professionals such as Writing for Exhibits or Managing Photographic Collections. They're offering a 10% discount for members of Maine Archives and Museums. For the discount code, log into the MAM website and navigate to the member discounts page.

Their upcoming courses are:

Writing for Exhibits
Instructor: Kathryn Lasdow
Dates: May 2 - 29, 2021
https://museumdev.com/products/2105-md008-writing-for-exhibits

Management of Photographic Collections
Instructor: Leigh Gleason
Dates: May 2 - 29, 2021
https://museumdev.com/collections/courses/products/2105-md001-managing-photographic-collections

Loans and Exhibits Management
Instructor: Matthew Clouse
Dates: June 6 - July 3, 2021

https://museumdev.com/collections/courses/products/2106-md007-loans-and-exhibits-management 

Label Design for Exhibits

Instructor: Margaret Middleton
Dates: July 5 - 31, 2021
https://museumdev.com/collections/courses/products/2107-md011-label-design-for-exhibits

Using Data in Museum Planning
Instructor: Emily Kalnicky
Dates: August 1 - 28, 2021
https://museumdev.com/collections/courses/products/2108-md010-using-data-in-museum-planning

Curatorial Organizational Strategies
Instructor: Kathryn Lasdow
Dates: August 1 - 28, 2021

https://museumdev.com/collections/courses/products/2108-md013-curatorial-organizational-strategies 

A second round of the NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions grant program seeks to advance digital tools and methods used by museums, libraries, archives, and galleries to bring the humanities to global audiences

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 15, 2021) — The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced that it is now accepting applications for the second round of the NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions. This international grant program was designed to have a transformational impact on digital methods and digital research in cultural institutions. Recipients are eligible to receive grants of up to $150,000.

The program is a joint initiative between NEH and the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), a component body of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and funds teams of researchers and cultural institution professionals in both countries. 

The NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions program seeks to advance digital scholarship in cultural institutions such as museums, libraries, galleries, and archives. Successful projects will develop new methods of sharing culture and heritage with global audiences, open new research frontiers, and advance collections-based research methods for the twenty-first century.

Reflecting the collaborative nature of this enterprise, applications must be submitted by bilateral teams with at least one cultural institution from each country. Previously funded projects include an international effort to develop digital methods for identifying and analyzing watermarks on manuscripts by Isaac Newton, and research on using artificial intelligence to enhance access to archival music collections at the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University–Newark and the Scottish Jazz Archive.

“The past year has changed so much about how we use technology to interact with each other and with our cultural institutions and collections,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. “This new round of funding aims to tap into that potential by promoting the development of innovative digital methods for studying and sharing the rich contents of the world’s museums, libraries, and archives. We are pleased to be able to partner once again with the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council to help spur international cooperation in digital research.”  

“Cultural institutions the world over have demonstrated remarkable resilience and ingenuity throughout the pandemic,” said AHRC Executive Chair, Professor Christopher Smith. “AHRC is delighted to be working again with our friends and colleagues in NEH to bring our joint resources and brilliant researchers together to ensure that they can continue to innovate in the face of a rapidly changing world and bring vital cultural and heritage research to a global audience.”

The application deadline for the NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions grant program is July 8, 2021. Funding opportunity guidelines are available here. Prospective applicants should direct questions about grant proposals to odh@neh.gov or 800-877-8399.

Do you love classic country music?  Are you adept at navigating social media?  The Maine Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is seeking a volunteer with Facebook experience to assist with administrative functions of its Facebook page.  Established in 1978, the Hall of Fame and Museum’s mission is to preserve country music and the memories of its over 125 inductees. The 3000 square-foot Museum showcases thousands of artifacts and historical memorabilia and hosts concerts and other events throughout the year.  For more information or to simply inquire about this opportunity please contact Maria Holloway, Community Outreach and Development Coordinator, Maine Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at mariaholloway207@gmail.com.

NEH Offers ARP Relief Funding for Economic Recovery for Cultural and Educational Institutions

 

Two new American Rescue Plan grant programs will provide emergency relief to humanities organizations and professionals affected by the pandemic

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—(April 7, 2021)— The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced two new funding opportunities to rapidly distribute American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funding to cultural organizations and educational institutions adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. These funding opportunities will provide direct grants to individual humanities institutions and grantmaking organizations to distribute as competitive subawards to affected organizations and individuals. These two grant programs aim to help the humanities community recover from the economic burdens of the pandemic, enable the reopening of humanities institutions and programs, and support the retention of the humanities workforce. NEH especially encourages applications from underserved and minority-serving institutions and organizations.

“As it has been for most of the country, this past year has been an extremely difficult one for our nation’s cultural institutions,” said NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson. “The economic fallout of the pandemic has led to cutbacks, closures, furloughs, and layoffs at museums, colleges and universities, historical sites and societies, archives and libraries of every size. NEH is grateful to members of Congress and President Biden for their recognition of the vital role that humanities organizations play in our economy and our communities. Through both direct grants and support for grantmaking organizations in the humanities, NEH will work quickly to distribute this much-needed American Rescue Plan relief funding to help restore the health of our cultural and educational institutions and bring economic recovery to the thousands of Americans they employ.”

Below are details of the two new American Rescue Plan funding opportunities:

• American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations emergency relief grants provide up to $500,000 to cultural organizations and educational institutions to support humanities projects across the fields of education, preservation and access, public programming, digital humanities, and scholarly research for one year. Applicants may propose new humanities projects or focus on sustaining core humanities programs and activities. Relief funding may be used for activities that emphasize retaining or hiring humanities staff at cultural organizations across the country. Applicants may propose new humanities projects or focus on sustaining core humanities programs and activities. The deadline to apply is May 14, 2021.
  
  The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations program is available on the NEH website. Questions about this grant program should be directed to ARPorganizations@neh.gov.
  
  
  

• American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking is directed at experienced grantmaking organizations to administer competitive grantmaking programs to support humanities activities undertaken by organizations or individuals. Applicants proposing grantmaking programs for organizations may request up to $5 million; those aimed at individual humanities professionals may request up to $2 million. Funding may be used to establish new grantmaking programs or expand or adapt existing programs to support recovery within the humanities sector. The deadline to apply is May 13, 2021.
  
  The Notice of Funding Opportunity for the American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking is available on the NEH website. Questions about this program should be directed to ARPgrantmaking@neh.gov.
  
  

Before submitting an application, your organization must have a current and active D-U-N-S^® number and Grants.gov registration. In order to expeditiously issue funding, and consistent with OMB memo M-21-20, NEH has relaxed the requirement for active SAM registration at time of application for these programs. Current registrants in SAM with active registrations expiring between April 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, will automatically be afforded a one-time extension of 180 days. At the time of award, the requirements of 2 CFR § 200.206 continue to apply. NEH will not make an award to an applicant lacking an active SAM registration. Step-by-step instructions on how to register are available on the Grants.gov website.

 

These two new funding opportunities are supported by $135 million in supplemental funding allocated to NEH by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. NEH will distribute $54 million of ARP funding to 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils and interim partners to support local cultural groups and public and educational humanities programming.

These new ARP funding opportunities build upon NEH’s distribution of CARES Act funding in 2020, when NEH awarded direct grants to 317 humanities organizations across all 50 states, and distributed awards to the state and jurisdictional humanities councils that serve the needs of states and local communities. NEH CARES grants allowed museums, historic sites, archives, and colleges and universities to retain humanities jobs, continue operations, and shift programs and resources online at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. See a list of NEH CARES awards.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities: Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.