Special Collections Roundtable

A newsletter for members of the RI library community who have responsibility for the care and access of unique or rare manuscripts, records, books, audio and/or visual materials, local history and other special collections.

The next Special Collections Roundtable on April 5 OR 12, 9:30-11:30. Join us! Look for the announcement on RISpecialCollections@googlegroups.com

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers Preservation Assistance Grants (PAG) to 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 significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials.

Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experience are related to the types of collections and the nature of the activities on which their projects focus. Within the conservation field, for example, conservators usually specialize in the care of specific types of collections, such as objects, paper, or paintings. Similarly, when assessing the preservation needs of library, museum, or archival holdings, applicants should seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about the preservation of collections in these types of institutions.

Deadline May 1, 2018, for projects beginning January 2019

Full details on the NEH website

The Rhode Island Foundation (RIF) has a new, flexible grants program. Responsive Grants will open funding opportunities to more Rhode Island nonprofits and will respond to expressed community needs.

Nonprofit organizations that are interested in applying should be working to address urgent community need, emerging opportunity, to test new ideas, and to support proven programs. Responsive Grants are meant to support organizations that may not be working in areas that are directly aligned with RIFs Strategic Initiatives (Economic Security, Educational Success, and Healthy Lives).

Grants made through this program will start at $10,000 and the grant term will generally be one year. Organizations can apply anytime but are only eligible for one award per calendar year from this program. Responsive Grants are designed to support organizations across the nonprofit sector – including those working in the arts or organizations focused on other areas of need. More about Responsive Grants

The Providence Public Library and the Rhode Island Historical Society will host a Genealogy Marketplace on Saturday, October 20, 2018. During the marketplace, people can “shop” historical societies, public libraries, and other cultural heritage institutions. Representatives from several repositories will be present to answer questions as well as provide brochures and other guides on their genealogical resources and collections. Attendees can connect with these repositories, hear more about the rich local wealth of resources, and learn what’s available and how to gain access to sites from across the state – all in one spot!

There are two ways for the library community to participate in this event!

1. Register as an attendee and "shop" the tables of local institutions.
   
2. Register as an institution if you would like to represent your library or historical society's genealogical resources. Please follow the registration link for more details.
   

October 20, 10am-12pm

Rhode Island Historical Society, Aldrich House, 110 Benevolent Street, Providence

Register Online

The RI Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission, the RI Black Heritage Society and the RI Historical Society are collaborating on a project, funded by the National Park Service, to document and interpret African Americans' struggle for Civil Rights in Rhode Island during the 20th century. The project is currently in the research phase. The team is seeking information about local historical collections and identifying people to record oral histories about their experiences. Have a lead or suggestion? Please contact Keith Stokes or Soni Stokes

“Preservation Week is your opportunity to inspire action to preserve collections—in libraries, archives, and museums, of course, but especially the items held and loved by individuals, families, and communities. Preservation Week activities will also raise awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions play in providing sound preservation information.” MORE

This year’s Preservation Week theme is cooking and community archiving, and participating libraries will celebrate by offering special programs and services to connect library users with preservation tools, promote the importance of preservation and strive to enhance knowledge of preservation issues among the public. Culinary Historian Michael W. Twitty is the 2018 Preservation Week Honorary Chair.

Preservation Week Event Planner

• The Connecting to Collections Care webinar this month, The Cabinet of Death: Tales of Conservation & Storage from the Mütter Abditory, is scheduled for March 22, 2018, 2:00 - 3:30 EST. FREE

• Digital Commonwealth's Annual Conference, "Creativity and Accessibility: Digital Trends in 2018"

  • Tuesday, April 10, from 8:00 AM to 3:45 PM
  • Hogan Center, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester

  Keynote Speakers:

  • Joseph Nugent, Professor of the Practice, Department of English at Boston College. "Joycestick, Engaging Ulysses in a Virtual Reality Game"
  • Eben English, Web Services Developer, Boston Public Library. "Digital Commonwealth Repository System Update: Year in Review and Future Directions"

  The conference program covers topics ranging from data mining to copyright education. Information on all breakout sessions can be found on the Conference website. Register
  

• Emergency Preparedness: How a Disaster Plan Gets You There
  May 1 9:30-11:30 North Kingstown Free Library
  Program description and registration
  

• National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators (NAGARA), 2018 Spring Regional Forum
  

  Themes: Records Management, Email Management, Shared Drive Organization, E-Discovery, Policy & Procedure, Cyber Security
  

  • Friday, May 4, from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
  • Providence Marriott Downtown, 1 Orms Street, Providence, RI 02904
• Full program and registration
  

• WebJunction Course Catalog (online, ongoing, on your schedule)
  
  

The WebJunction Course Catalog is free and open to library staff everywhere whenever you are ready to learn. It offers library-specific self-paced courses, webinar recordings, and other great learning materials. WebJunction Collections Management offerings include sessions on digitization, disaster response, etc., but don’t stop there. Throughout WebJunction there are sessions on topics about which we all can use more information. Create an account and start learning today.

National Women’s History Month traces its origins to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was later observed in 1909. In 1981, the U.S. Congress designated the second week of March National Women's History Week, and in 1987 Congress expanded it to a month-long observance.

An online resource created by the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Website

The Providence Journal is producing a new book,"Rhode Island Memories: The Early Years" which will feature Rhode Island history through 1939 through photos.

The book will include images from the archives of The Providence Journal, in addition to images shared by the public, and from the following organizations that are partnering with the Journal: Bristol Historical and Preservation Society, Jamestown Historical Society, Newport Historical Society, Pawtucket Public Library, Providence Athenæum, Providence Public Library, Rhode Island Historical Society, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association, Rhode Island State Archives, South County History Center, Stages of Freedom, and Tomaquag Museum.

The ProJo is specifically looking for original general interest (i.e., commerce, industry, transportation, rural life, public service, etc.) photos (no newspaper clippings or photocopies) taken between the late 1800s and 1939.
More information is available online

Mellon grant to Emory will help provide new insights on slave trade

Emory University has been awarded a grant of $300,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for use by the Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS) to fund a new initiative allowing researchers at Emory, across the U.S. and abroad to update and expand the renowned website Voyages: The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database hosted at Emory. The new project, called “People of the Atlantic Slave Trade” (PAST), will provide information on any historical figure who can be linked to a slave voyage, enslaved and enslavers alike.

[Note from the newsletter editor: I wonder if this project will change the landscape of our knowledge about Rhode Island's participation in the slave trade?]

Members can post to the RISpecialCollections@googlegroups.com discussion forum! It's one way to communicate with others who work with special collections and archives in Rhode Island libraries and some historical societies, museums, and cultural heritage organizations. It's your list, so use it to about what matters to you in the field of special collections and archives!

The Office of Library and Information Services strengthens, connects and empowers libraries to advance knowledge, connect communities and enrich the lives of all Rhode Islanders.

Website: www.olis.ri.gov
Location: One Capitol Hill, Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-574-9300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olisri/
Twitter: @olisri