NEH grants are available to plan and implement preventive conservation projects that prolong the useful life of humanities collections. Cultural institutions are increasingly interested in sustainable preservation strategies, which balance preservation effectiveness, cost, and environmental impact. And a growing body of research suggests that institutions can develop effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally sensitive preservation measures, particularly for managing the environmental conditions under which collections are stored or exhibited.  NEH therefore encourages projects that explore and implement sustainable preservation measures that are designed to mitigate the greatest risks to collections rather than to meet prescriptive targets. 

The program offers two kinds of awards:  

Planning grants up to $40,000
These grants can help institutions identify realistic approaches for mitigating risks to collections; examine passive and low-energy alternatives to conventional energy-intensive systems for managing environmental conditions; and analyze existing climate control systems and the performance characteristics of buildings and building envelopes to develop a plan for improved operation, effectiveness, and energy efficiency.

Implementation grants up to $400,000 
These grants can support managing interior relative humidity and temperature by passive methods; installing or re-commissioning heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems; installing storage systems and rehousing collections; improving security and the protection of collections from fire, flood, and other disasters; and upgrading lighting systems and controls to achieve levels suitable for collections that are energy efficient. 

The deadline is November 16, 2010 and the guidelines are on the NEH Web site: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SCHC.html  U.S. nonprofit museums, libraries, and archives, as well as state and local governmental agencies and tribal governments with humanities collections are eligible to apply. 

Please contact the division for more information by emailing [log in to unmask] or calling 202-606-8570.

Laura J. Word 
Senior Program Officer 
Division of Preservation and Access 
National Endowment for the Humanities 
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Room 411 
Washington, D.C.  20506 
202/606-8570 
[log in to unmask] 


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