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Media contacts: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release
Ohio Historical Society Receives Two IMLS Grants
Funding Will Aid Collections Inventory, African American Archives
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded the Ohio Historical Society two separate two-year grants totaling $299,475. The funding will benefit projects involving OHS collections.
A $149,478 African American History and Culture Grant will enable the historical society’s National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce to build capacity in managing its archival collections. This will involve hiring a professional archivist, developing an archival management plan and training staff in archival processing.
"Our goal is to use current technology to catalog and begin digitizing the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center archival collections," said Floyd Thomas of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. "We want to make the museum’s extensive African American history resources accessible to wider public and scholarly audiences."
The grant is one of 11 totaling $1.31 million awarded to organizations dedicated to preserving the history of African American life.
A $149,997 grant from the institute’s Museums for America program will aid OHS curators in completing an inventory of items in the society's collections storage facilities in Columbus, an undertaking that began in 2006 with a previous Museums for America grant for $149,923.
"The first project consolidated 120 years' worth of paper records, making them more usable by processing them online," explained Elizabeth Nelson, manager of curatorial and registration services. "Phase two will add information to our online catalog, completing work started in the first phase while improving the quality, completeness and accuracy of the catalog records for our history collections."
The grant is one of 167 Museums for America grants totaling $19,176,000 awarded to museums in 46 states and Puerto Rico. Recipients were chosen from among 433 applicants.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. Learn more at www.imls.gov.
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, natural history, archaeology and historic architecture. For more information about programs and events, visit www.ohiohistory.org.
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