Preservation and Access Research and Development Grants

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Preservation and Access Research and Development grants support projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources. These challenges include the need to find better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage—from fragile artifacts and manuscripts to analog recordings and digital assets subject to technological obsolescence—and to develop advanced modes of searching, discovering, and using such materials. Applicants should define a specific problem, devise procedures and potential solutions, and explain how they would evaluate their projects and disseminate their findings. Project results must serve the needs of a significant segment of humanists. Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply. Eligible projects may include efforts to * develop technical standards, best practices, and tools for preserving and creating access to humanities collections; * explore more effective scientific and technical methods of preserving humanities collections; * develop automated procedures and computational tools to integrate humanities data in disparate online resources; or * investigate and test new ways of providing digital access to humanities materials that are not amenable to standard modes of digitization. NEH especially encourages applications that address the following areas: * Digital Preservation: how to preserve digital humanities materials, including those for which no analog counterparts exist; * Recorded Sound and Moving Image Collections: how to preserve and increase access to the record of the twentieth century contained in these formats; and * Preventive Conservation: how to protect and slow the deterioration of humanities collections through the use of sustainable preservation strategies. Collaboration is a hallmark of research and development projects. Projects that present advanced models of collaboration, especially between humanities professionals, computer or information scientists, and other technical experts, are welcomed. Projects to develop standards or procedures should be guided by a committee representative of the relevant professions to ensure that they are comprehensive and acceptable. Successful applicants will be expected to create a white paper that describes the lessons learned during the conduct of the project (both positive and negative). The white paper should also document any software or techniques resulting from the project. White papers will be posted on the NEH Web site so that others may benefit from the research.

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