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.

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Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I hope that everyone enjoyed a little something special during the holiday. December is filled with many holidays, each with its own traditions. Here’s to traditions and the way we make them our own in the present day. Archives and special collections are all about keeping records of such things, so in future times others may know what we held dear and shared among friends and families.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Donna Longo DiMichele, OLIS

President Clinton's family cat Socks, photo credit: nara.getarchive.net/

Previous issues of the SCRT Newsletters are now available on an SRCT page on the OLIS website or from the SCRT home page

Listserve note: Incoming mail from the RI Special Collections Google Group will now display as RISpecialCollections, no longer as RIArchivists.

Read about plans for expanding online obituaries in one Rhode Island magazine http://www.golocalprov.com/news/obituaries-and-moving-to-golocal

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has launched a new special initiative, Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries (APP), and is accepting grant applications. Community Memory is a great fit for special collections.

This new funding opportunity is designed specifically to strengthen the ability of small and rural libraries, archives, and related organizations to serve their communities, and awards sizes range from $10,000 to $50,000. There are three categories of grants: Community Memory, Transforming School Library Practice, and Digital Inclusion.

From the IMLS announcement:

• Community Memory: Libraries and archives not only serve as stewards of our nation’s knowledge and collections but also as trusted spaces for community engagement and dialogue. This project category centers on engaging local communities in the collection, documentation, and preservation of their local histories, experiences, and identities. Proposals could include events and programs to digitize materials related to community histories, such as photographs, artifacts, or texts, or oral history projects that involve community members in the documentation and preservation of local histories.

Two pre-application webinars will be held with program staff to answer questions from potential applicants. The webinars, which will each cover the same material, are scheduled for:

Tuesday, December 18, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Eastern

Wednesday, January 9, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern

Deadline: February 25, 2019

The Rhode Island Foundation is accepting applications for the Herman H. Rose Civic, Cultural and Media Access Fund (formerly the Archive, Document, Display and Dissemination Fund). There are two grant opportunities.

Media Project Grants may be requested by any nonprofit or municipal agency and should provide greater access to information through archiving, documenting, displaying, or disseminating information.

Library Challenge Grants may be requested by any Rhode Island library or library support organization with 501(c)(3) status and are intended to provide added funding to fundraising campaigns planned to meet local needs.

Please review the criteria for each grant application carefully.

Deadline: January 11, 2019.

Apply for the Library Challenge Grant. Details available at this link.

Apply for the Media Project Grant. Details available at this link.

Questions? Contact Kelly Riley, Donor Services Administrator or by phone 401-427-4028

The National Endowment for the Humanities is accepting applications for Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC) planning and implementation grants. The SCHC program helps local and state cultural institutions meet the complex challenges of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials by supporting sustainable conservation measures that mitigate deterioration, prolong the useful life of collections, and support institutional resilience. Maximum award amount for planning: $40,000; maximum award for implementation: $350,000.

Deadline: January 31, 2019

See the November SCRT Newsletter

Federal grants are applied for through Grants.gov. Become familiar with the Grants.gov before you start your grant application or letter of intent.

Applicant organizations must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting an application, maintain SAM.gov registration throughout the application and award process, and include a valid DUNS number in their application. Details on SAM registration and requesting a DUNS number can be found at the System for Award Management website at https://sam.gov/SAM/. Refer to the User Guides section and the Grants Registrations PDF.

Start the Grants.gov and the Sam.gov process early so by the time you are ready to submit a preliminary proposal or an application, you will be ready.

April 4-6, 2019, Hilton Burlington, Burlington, VT Call for Proposals

August 12-16, 2019 Rolling Ridge Conference and Retreat Center, No. Andover, MA

The purpose of this five-day intensive training program is to foster the mentoring and development of leaders in state and regional library associations. NELLS was created through a cooperative effort of the New England Library Association and all six New England state library associations. Brochure

NELLS Application

Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) is offering a hands-on workshop for an in-depth introduction to the preservation of photographic materials, including their identification, deterioration, and care. (Beginner to intermediate audience.)

March 14-13, 2019 at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA More information

The 2019 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition poster session committee invites everyone to share their best ideas and work with the library community by presenting a poster session at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC, on Saturday, June 22, and Sunday, June 23, 2019.

Submissions are invited from all types of libraries and on any topic relevant to librarianship and may include a description of an innovative library program; an analysis of a solution to a problem; a report of a research study; or any other presentation that would benefit the larger library community. Poster session participants populate boards with pictures, data, graphs, diagrams, narrative text, and more, and informally discuss their presentations with conference attendees during assigned 1 ½-hour time periods. For information on 2019 posters and the submission process, please visit this page

Deadline: February 8, 2019

Lab Notes: The Florence Flood and the emergence of library conservation, From the Stacks, New York Historical Society, Nov. 7, 2018

NARA Efforts Begin to Digitize 377 Native Treaties, National Archives News, Nov. 21, 2018

Tapping into Beer History: University creates archive for local breweriana, American Libraries, Nov. 1, 2018

A free online photo archive of the Middle East, Muftah, Dec. 11, 2017

50 Must-Read Microhistory Books, BookRiot, Nov. 14, 2018

NEDCC provides free preservation advice to institutions and individuals worldwide. Each year, the Center answers more than 1,200 phone and e-mail inquiries about general preservation issues ranging from insect infestations to best practices in digitization. This free service is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Email your questions to NEDCC

• Join the RISpecialCollections@googlegroups.com discussion forum! It's a convenient way to communicate with others who work with special collections and archives in Rhode Island libraries, historical societies, museums, and cultural heritage organizations. Use the link above to subscribe. It's your list, so use it to share what matters to you in the field of special collections and archives!

• To subscribe to Special Collections Roundtable News and Notes newsletter, send an email to Donna Longo DiMichele

The Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS) strengthens, connects and empowers libraries to advance knowledge, connect communities and enrich the lives of all Rhode Islanders. Funding for OLIS is from the State of Rhode Island and the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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