New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Grants

New Netherland Research Residencies

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The Quinn Library Research Residency consists of specialized research in Dutch-related documents and printed materials at the New York State Library. Researchers interested in the history of New Netherland and the Dutch Colonial Atlantic World are also encouraged to apply for the special Cunningham Grant of $2,500.

The Quinn Archives Research Residency consists of up to one year in Albany, working in the rich collections of the New Netherland Institute and the New York State Archives.

Researchers interested in the history of New Netherland and the Dutch Colonial Atlantic World are also encouraged to apply for the research residency, which carries a stipend of $2,500.

The Quinn Library Research Residency Award application must be postmarked by January 28,2011 and is due January 29,2011. The Archives Research Residency Award application is due January 15,2011. Each award is for $2,500 and the successful candidate has a year from the time the awards are announced to complete his/her research.

A panel of scholars and library staff will review proposals. The panel’s decisions will be announced by April 14, 2011.

More information and the application link can be found at http://www.nnp.org/nni/Research%20&%20Education/quinn.html

If you’d like to discuss the suitability of your research topic for one of these awards, contact cgehring@mail.nysed.gov or jvenema@mail.nysed.gov or mdshattuck@gmail.com

Historic Saranac Lake Gets Preservation Grant

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Historic Saranac Lake (HSL) was recently awarded National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant. The grant will support the services of a professional consultant and the purchase of storage materials for the HSL collection.

Eileen Corcoran, of Vergennes Vermont, will conduct a general preservation assessment and to help draft a long-range plan for the care of the HSL collection. She will also provide on site training to staff in methods and materials for the storage of collections, best practices for cataloging collections, and proper methods for the arrangement and description of archival collections.

Historic Saranac Lake houses a collection of letters and manuscripts, photographs and objects pertaining to the early scientific research of tuberculosis and care of TB patients in Saranac Lake, as well as a variety of items relating to the architecture and general history of the community. A number of these items are rare survivors of the many, many examples that once existed, such as an inspection certificate, or a record of patient treatments. They tell the story of a community of healing.

The Historic Saranac Lake collection is used for exhibitions, educational programs and by researchers. Historic Saranac Lake currently maintains two exhibitions at the Saranac Laboratory Museum. The main laboratory space is a model of a very early science lab. Visitors explore and gain an appreciation for the history of science by observing artifacts and letters on display such as early microscopes and laboratory equipment, early scientific journals and photographs of important men in the history of science.

An alcove in the laboratory has been arranged as an exhibit on patient care, another important facet of Saranac Lake’s TB history. Items from the collection are displayed such as a cure chair, photos of cure cottages, letters from patients, sputum cups, a pneumothorax machine for collapsing the lung, and items made by patients in occupational therapy. Visitors gain an understanding of the patient experience taking the fresh air cure in Saranac Lake.

The main floor meeting space contains another exhibition, “The Great War, WWI in Saranac Lake.” This exhibit includes letters from local soldiers, medals, photos, and a complete WWI uniform and supplies such as a gas mask and mess kit. The exhibit interprets this important time period in history and how it impacted Saranac Lake.

Historic Saranac Lake is a not-for-profit architectural preservation organization that captures and presents local history from their center at the Saranac Laboratory Museum. Founded in 1980, Historic Saranac Lake offers professional knowledge and experience to the public in support of Historic Preservation, architectural and historical research and education. HSL operates the Saranac Laboratory Museum and an online museum of local history at hsl.wikispot.org.

NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions—such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities—improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections.

New York Council for the Humanities Grant Announcements

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Yesterday, the New York Council for the Humanities published revised grant guidelines and online application forms to its website.

Council funding will continue to support public programs in the humanities including Mini Grants available on a rolling basis, in support of both planning and implementation. New Major Grant requirements and deadlines will be announced in fall 2011, however, we will not be accepting Major Grant applications in 2011. Here is a statement from the Council’s Executive Director.

The Council is also now participating in the Cultural Data Project. Beginning in 2011, as part of the Council’s new online applications, applicants will be required to submit a CDP Funder Report. To generate one for your organization you will first need a Cultural Data Project profile, which requires some time for input and review, but which can be used for other funders as well. Visit the CDP’s New York State website for details.

Beginning in January, the Council will offer webinars introducing their new guidelines and forms. These one-hour online seminars will feature a 30 minute presentation and 30 minute Q&A, so questions are welcome.

You can contact the Council at any time with questions at grants@nyhumanities.org or (212) 233-1131.

Fort Ticonderoga Receives Art Exhibit Grant

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Fort Ticonderoga has been awarded a grant in the amount of $3,000 by The Felicia Fund, Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island. The funds will support the upcoming exhibit, The Art of War: Ticonderoga as Experienced through the Eyes of America’s Great Artists exhibit. The new exhibit, scheduled to open in May 2011, will feature fifty works from Fort Ticonderoga’s extensive art collection together for the first time in a single exhibition. Included will be important American works by Thomas Davies, Thomas Cole, and Daniel Huntington. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Receives Art Exhibit Grant

Adirondack Museum Receives ‘Dog Days’ Support

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The Adirondack Community Trust -Master Family Fund has awarded a grant in the amount of $5,500 to the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York. The funds will be used in support of the museum’s fifth annual “Dog Days of Summer” event, a celebration of all things canine scheduled for August 6, 2011.

“Dog Days of Summer” has grown immensely in popularity since its introduction in 2007. Owners are invited to visit the museum in the company of their four-legged companions for this special event. The day is filled with dog-themed activities, demonstrations, and opportunities for dog participation.

In 2010, 198 dogs of all shapes, sizes, and breeds participated in this “fetching” event that was also made possible by support from Nancy and Lawrence Master. Breeds represented included a Finish Spitz, a Chinese Crested, an Appenzeller, several English Bulldogs, many Labrador Retrievers, Beagles and more.

The Adirondack Community Trust (ACT) is a community foundation working to build permanent and pass-through funds to help meet current and future charitable needs of the Adirondack region. ACT is structured so that donors can take full advantage of tax benefits either during their lifetime or through their estates. Funds are pooled for investment and grants are made annually according to donors’ wishes.

ACT currently manages 200 different endowed and pass-through funds with assets of $23 million dollars, and has made grants in excel of $10 million to benefit the Adirondack region and beyond.

Photo: Dog Days of Summer at the Adirondack Museum. Photograph by Tom Dwyer.

Fort Ticonderoga Receives Program Grant

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Fort Ticonderoga has been awarded a grant in the amount of $15,000 by the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust of Saratoga Springs, NY. The funds will support an expanded interpretive program entitled “These Worthy Fellows are Second to None in Courage” highlighting the daily lives of the soldiers garrisoned at Fort Ticonderoga.

The funding support from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust will help support interpretive staff and the purchase of interpretive clothing, weapons, accoutrement and tools. The Fort’s expanded programming will further bring to life the Fort’s social and military history as well as the material culture of the 18th century soldiers who served at Fort Ticonderoga.

Beth Hill, Executive Director, said the generous grant provided by Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust will “support a significant initiative at Fort Ticonderoga that invests in the visitor’s experience, serves the heart of our mission and meets a national need.” As part of an institutional-wide assessment, Fort Ticonderoga has identified the need for more interpretive opportunities that engage visitors through expanded living history programs.

According to a recent national study, 83% of U.S. adults failed when tested on the beliefs, freedoms and liberties established during the American Revolution. A goal of the Fort’s interpretive initiative is to address in part the historical amnesia identified in the report. Fort Ticonderoga, often called “America’s Fort,” tells the story of how the blood spilled in the name of empire during the French and Indian War became part of the same story of the blood spilled in the name of liberty during the American Revolution.

Photo: Interpreters portray Loyalist militia at Fort Ticonderoga.

Adk Museum Universal Access Project Funded

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The Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York has received a restricted grant in the amount of $20,000 from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation. The funds will be used to bring museum programs to a wider audience, including those with disabilities, by making the museum’s Auditorium universally accessible. The Auditorium is the venue for lectures, films, and community programs such as the museum’s popular Cabin Fever Sunday series.

The funds will also be used to meet a challenge grant from the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust for the same initiative. The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, based in New York City, promotes the advancement and perpetuation of humanistic inquiry and artistic creativity by encouraging excellence in scholarship and in the performing arts, and by supporting research libraries and other institutions that transmit cultural heritage.

The Adirondack Museum has been the grateful recipient of support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation since 1995. Committed to an ongoing program to provide full access to its resources, the Adirondack Museum is a museum of history, art, and material culture. It is nationally recognized for extensive collections, exhibits, and a research library that together reflect stories of life, work, and play in the
Adirondack Park and northern New York State.

New York State Archives Research Grants Available

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The Archives Partnership Trust and the New York State Archives have announced the availability of awards for applicants to pursue research using the New York State Archives. The Larry J. Hackman Research Residency program is intended to support product-related research in such areas as history, law, public policy, geography, and culture by covering research expenses. Award amounts range from $100 to $4,500.

Academic and public historians, graduate students, independent researchers and writers, and primary and secondary school teachers are encouraged to apply. Projects involving alternative uses of the State Archives, such as background research for multimedia projects, exhibits, documentary films, and historical novels, are eligible. The topic or area of study must draw, at least in part, on the holdings of the New York State Archives.

Information on the 2009 Larry J. Hackman Research Residency Program is available on‑line at www.nysarchivestrust.org or by contacting the Archives Partnership Trust, Cultural Education Center, Suite 9C49, Albany, New York 12230; (518) 473‑7091; hackmanres@mail.nysed.gov.

Deadline for receipt of application: January 15, 2011.

National Archives Regional Residency Fellowship

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The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), with the support of the Foundation for the National Archives, has announced a new program designed to give researchers the opportunity to conduct original research using records held at National Archives locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Seattle. This is an opportunity for researchers to explore often overlooked records held by NARA and to experience what many researchers have discovered – that you do not have to go to Washington, D.C. to do research at the National Archives.

For 2011, one fellow will be assigned to each of the participating National Archives facilities, for a total of five fellowships. Each fellow will receive a $3,000.00 stipend to assist with travel and research expenses.

Stipend recipients will be expected to complete a research project that results in a publishable work product. In addition, within one year of receiving the fellowship, recipients will be asked to prepare a short report for publication by NARA that describes the research experience – the discovery, method, and use of the records at whatever facility the fellow is working at.

The use of social media tools to spread information about the experience is encouraged. Fellows will also be asked to conduct a staff briefing at the end of their research visit to share information regarding what was found during the research process.

Academic and independent historians, public and local historians, and writers are encouraged to apply. Current NARA employees and contractors or their immediate family members are not eligible.

Submit proposals by e-mail or mail. Either must be postmarked by NOVEMBER 15, 2010.

What to Send:

* A description and justification for the project, not to exceed six pages. This proposal should include:

o a description of consultation with a regional archivist regarding the records to be used for research (there should be enough records to warrant a research visit of at least one week);

o a listing of the records that will be used at the region;

o the proposed final product; and

o the significance of the project to historical scholarship.

* Please also include the following with your proposal:

o Copy of Vita (no more than three pages) including current contact information; and

o Two letters of recommendation

Proposals should be sent by mail or electronic mail directly to the NARA facility the researcher intends to use for the fellowship:

Documentary Heritage Program Grants Offered

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The Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) is a statewide program established in 1988 under Education Law, §§ 140, 207; L. 1988, ch. 679. The DHP is administered by the New York State Archives to ensure the identification, sound administration and accessibility of New York’s historical records.

One component of the DHP is the grants program. DHP Grants are designed to encourage more comprehensive documentation of New York State’s history and culture by supporting projects that identify, survey, collect, and make available important records relating to groups and topics traditionally under-represented in the historical record. DHP is administered by the New York State Archives, a unit of the New York State Education Department (NYSED).

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include not-for-profit community organizations, archives, libraries, historical societies, and similar institutions within New York State and consortia or partnerships of such agencies. Also eligible are service providers such as historical service agencies, colleges and universities, professional associations, or other not-for-profit institutions or systems that provide services to historical records programs.

Funding

A total of $92,000 is expected to be available for grants projects. Grants will be available in amounts up to $25,000. Applicants may seek support for personnel; purchased services, including qualified consultants; supplies; materials and equipment costing less than $5,000; and travel as required to directly support project activities and outcomes.

Important Dates

Grants in this cycle are for up to 12-month projects, from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. Applications must be postmarked by Tuesday, February 1, 2011. Tentative date for the announcement of grant awards is June 30, 2011.

Grant Project Types

Documentation projects identify and ensure the systematic preservation of papers and records that shed light on the people, groups, events or changing political, economic or social conditions of New York State. The ultimate goal of a documentation project is to contribute to the building of a comprehensive and equitable historical record in repositories which make unique original source materials available to researchers and citizens. Typically consisting of three phases – planning, surveying, and collecting, documentation projects usually take at least two years to complete. Cost sharing of at least 20% is required.

Arrangement & Description projects – Arrangement and description are the processes used to obtain physical and intellectual control over materials held in historic records repositories. Arrangement is the process of organizing materials with respect to their provenance and original order, to protect their context and to achieve physical and/or intellectual control over the materials. Description is the creation of an accurate representation of a unit of archival material by the process of capturing, collating, analyzing, and organizing information that serves to identify archival material and explain the context and records system(s) that produced it. The objective of archival description is the creation of access tools that assist users in discovering desired records. Cost sharing of at least 50% is required.

Ineligible Projects

Several types of historical records projects are not eligible for funding under the DHP. These include:

· Projects that do not demonstrate a primary focus on New York State

· Digitization (projects to create digital records)

· Item-level description and/or indexing

· Oral history and/or video taping

· Newspaper collections (these are not considered to be historical records under the DHP law)

· Preservation (i.e., the physical work to conserve, restore, or repair records, or reproduction for preservation purposes such as microfilming)

Topical Priorities

In order to insure that the DHP addresses the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board’s mandate to identify, survey, collect, and make available historical records that relate to under-documented groups or subjects, the State Archives has identified and given priority to specific topical areas for DHP funding. These topics are listed in Priority Levels One and Two below. Although applications for projects that focus on any under-documented group or subject are eligible for funding, they will receive fewer points during grants review than those in Levels One and Two.

Priority Level One

· Population groups in the 20th and 21st centuries
· Economic change in the 20th and 21st centuries
· World Trade Center disaster, September 11, 2001
· Education policy

Priority Level Two

· Environmental affairs
· Mental health

Priority Level Three

· Other under-documented topics in New York State history

Application Process

Grant application forms may be obtained by emailing the State Archives dhs@mail.nysed.gov or by visiting the State Archives Web site www.archives.nysed.gov and clicking on Grants and Awards.

For further information contact:

Pamela Cooley/Documentary Heritage Program
New York State Archives
Room 9C71 Cultural Education Center
Albany, NY 12230
Telephone: 518-474-6276
Email: dhs@mail.nysed.gov