From H-Public:
Heritage Preservation’s Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel is now available free of charge on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad as the ”ERS: Emergency Response and Salvage” app. Long known as the authoritative resource for salvaging artifacts after a disaster, the Wheel has been used by museums, libraries, and archives around the world. This new app makes the Wheel’s invaluable guidance accessible to anyone who is in need of practical advice for saving collections in the first 48 hours after disaster strikes.
Apple users can download this free app from the App Store. Simply search for “ERS: Emergency Response and Salvage.” To download, your device must run iOS 5.1 or later. Complete technical requirements are available on the ERS page at the App Store.
ERS provides the same reliable content found in the original Wheel. The app outlines critical stages of disaster response and provides practical salvage tips for nine types of collections, from photographs to natural history specimens. ERS can help users protect precious collections and significant records, access reliable information
instantly, and save damaged objects. The app was created in partnership with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.
The Conservation Center for Art & Historical Artifacts (CCAHA) offers training programs to help preserve Pennsylvania’s at-risk collections. The programs are offered in connection with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and are supported by an Institute of Museum and Library Services Connecting to Collections Statewide Implementation Grant.
CCAHA will hold a Digitization Basics Workshop on April 3, 2012 in Philadelphia, PA at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Registration is required two weeks before the workshop and is $25 for PA institutions, $75 for out of state institutions.
Every institution struggles with pressure to be visible on the web and to make its collections accessible to wider audiences, and many face daunting hurdles to implementing digitization programs. This program will cover basic issues in digital preservation, including an introduction to digitization, and will provide information on handling guidelines for digitization, selection of materials, conducting pilot projects, creating access to digitized materials, funding sources, and the benefits of collaborating with other institutions.
A second workshop, Understanding Archives: An Introduction to Archival Basics will be held on May 10, 2012, in Philadelphia, PA at Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Registration is required, and is $25 for PA institutions, $75 for out of state institutions.
Proper archival procedures enable safe and effective management of collections. Participants will learn about the fundamentals of archival appraisal, acquisition, and access; proper storage materials; and the most common preservation problems associated with paper-based archival collections. This program will touch briefly on processing, arrangement, and description. Volunteers, historians, and those with archival responsibilities in addition to other duties may find themselves in the position of “archivist” without formal training in the profession; this program offers an introduction to best practices in the field.
On January 31, Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation announced that Barbara Franco will serve as the first Executive Director of the forthcoming Seminary Ridge Museum. Ms. Franco most recently served eight years as the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The Seminary Ridge Museum is scheduled for a spring 2013 opening. Exhibitions will center on the first day of battle, the role of Schmucker Hall both in battle and as a field hospital, and the religious tensions around slavery, African-American history and the local work of the Underground Railroad.
For more information on Barbara Franco and the Seminary Ridge Museum, visit seminaryridge.org.
From H-Public & neh.gov:
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Preservation and Access has offered Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions for more than a decade. These grants help small and mid-sized cultural heritage institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections.
Awards of up to $6000 support preservation related collection assessments, consultations, training and workshops, and institutional and collaborative disaster and emergency planning. Preservation Assistance Grants also support education and training in best practices for sustaining digital collections, standards for digital preservation, and the care and handling of collections during digitization. Institutions may request funds for a preservation assessment of digital collections.
NEH does not fund digitization or the development of digital programs in this grant category.
All applications to the NEH must be submitted through Grants.gov. See the application guidelines for details.
You will also find sample project descriptions, sample narratives, and a list of frequently asked questions. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2012.
Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant and those considering projects in digital preservation are especially encouraged to apply. For more information, contact the staff of NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access at 202-606-8570 and preservation@neh.gov
Elizabeth Joffrion
Senior Program Officer
Division of Preservation and Access
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8570 (fax) 202-606-8639
