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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Happy New Year! I hope that your holidays were special in ways that were meaningful to you.

While exploring what is celebrated in January, I learned it is Oatmeal Month, Soup Month, Sunday Supper Month, Slow Cooking Month – see a pattern here? The search also yielded some more meaningful themes, including National Braille Literacy Month which caught my attention because OLIS’ Talking Books Library (TBL) which serves the blind and visually impaired with audio and Braille materials. Qualifying Rhode Islanders of any age can apply for this free service. Check out the TBL if you think you might know someone, such as an elderly family member, who can benefit from the service.

The OLIS Spring Continuing Education session has been announced and registration is open. As always, anyone is welcome to attend any session that interests them. The following sessions will be offered under the banner of the Special Collections Roundtable:

• February 27 - Film Archives
  

• April 11 - Security Measures for Special Collections

• June 6 - TBD
  

To learn more about these and other professional development programs that interest you visit the full OLIS CE Calendar. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out and we look forward to seeing you this spring!

Donna Longo DiMichele
Office of Library and Information Services

Photo: Red Cross workers in Providence, R.I. printing braille. August 1921. Reproduction #: LC-DIG-anrc-14284, Call #: LC-A6197- RC-9362 [P&P], Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Mini Grants provide funding in support of public humanities projects, documentary film, civic education initiatives, and individual research for requests up to $2,000.

Deadline: February 1, 2019.

NEW January 31 Grant Deadline! New Award Levels! New Eligible Grant Activities!

• Up to $10,000 for grants to improve general preservation practices.

• Up to $15,000 for grants to support activities related to American history collections that may be a part of the United States 250th anniversary coming up in 2026

Preservation Assistance Grants (PAG) from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) 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. 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 may qualify.

Eligible Activities for 2019 NEH PAG Grants ($10,000 to $15,000)

• Education and Training
• General Preservation Assessments
• Digital Preservation Assessments
• Collection-level Assessments
• Consultations
• Purchase of: Preservation Supplies, Storage Furniture, or Environmental Monitoring Equipment

Application Deadline: January 31, 2019 (for projects starting September 1, 2019)
See below for information on registering on SAM.gov

Recordings at Risk is a national regranting program administered by CLIR to support the preservation of rare and unique audio and audiovisual content of high scholarly value through digital reformatting. Awards from the open competitions range from $10,000 to $50,000 and cover costs of preservation reformatting for audio and/or audiovisual content by qualified external service providers. program flyer (printable)

Recordings at Risk encourages professionals who may be constrained by limited resources and/or technical expertise to take action against the threats of degradation and obsolescence. The program aims to help institutions identify priorities and develop practical strategies for digital reformatting, build relationships with partners, and raise awareness of best practices.

The application cycle for the fifth call is now open.

Application Deadline February 8, 2019.

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.

At midnight on December 31, 2018, all works first published in the United States in 1923 will enter the public domain. It has been 21 years since the last mass expiration of copyright in the U.S. If you work in a library or other repository that allows reproduction, you should be familiar with the update. Read more

Want to know more about archives and copyright? The Society of American Archivists provides a handy FAQ.

April 4-6, 2019, Hilton Burlington, Burlington, VT

With the theme “Together We Can,” the Spring 2019 NEA Meeting will explore how archivists work with both records and users, especially with diverse peoples and groups who use and share archival material. Sessions offering practical information and innovative ideas will inspire archivists in the work they do every day as well as advance the archives profession.

The Council is now accepting applications for two new internship openings: Media Archive and Digital Library and Marketing and Communications

Deadline: January 25: Details

NELA opened its2019 Annual Conference Program Proposal Form. Proposals will be accepted until March 31st. Accepted presenters will be notified at the end of June. The 2019 Annual Conference will be held on October 20th - 22nd, at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa in Mystic, CT.

A program of OCLC Research, WebJunction is free and welcome to all libraries to use, regardless of size, type or location. WebJunction builds the knowledge, skills and confidence of library staff to power strong libraries that are the heart of vibrant communities. Create your free account https://learn.webjunction.org/

New England Library Leadership Symposium, August 12-16, 2019 Rolling Ridge Conference and Retreat Center, No. Andover, MA

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

Read the news in American Libraries.

Why it matters to the RI cultural heritage community. In OLIS' Rhodarian

The Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS) announces the publication of volume 5, article 16, Tell Us about Your Digital Archives Workstation: A Survey and Case Study, written by Elvia Arroyo-Ramírez, Kelly Bolding, Faith Charlton, and Allison Hughes.

The journal has also recently published three book reviews:

• Review of Moving Image and Sound Collections for Archivists elischolar.library.yale.edu] (written by Lauren Sorensen)

• Review of Classroom Action: Human Rights, Critical Activism, and Community-Based Education (written by Rachel M. Grove Rohrbaugh)

• Review of Nonbinary Gender Identities: History, Culture, Resources (written by Chris Babits)

Read the reviews

First Edition (1771) of ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’ Available Online, Library Journal, Info Docket, December 10, 2018. See it for yourself on the National Library of Scotland website

A Book’s Eight Year Journey to the Biodiversity Heritage Library: Fulfilling a Researcher’s Digitization Request and Advancing Science, Biodiversity Heritage Library blog, December 13, 2018

• OLIS Special Collections Roundtable web page

• 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