Why Apply?
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- The Money
- The Prestige; money begets money
- Opportunities for Research, Publication -- Professional Responsibility
Federal Funding Sources for Digital Library Projects
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- Money awarded for the preservation or digitization of library
materials
- Applicants should describe the significance of the project and any
innovative approaches.
- Eligibility -- all types of libraries except federal or for-profit
- Application deadline -- February 1, 2000
- Grant amount -- $15,000-500,000
- Examples of funded projects:
(http://www.imls.fed.us/grants/library)
- Independent grant-making agency of the federal government to
support
the research, education and public programs in the humanities
- Funds projects through the Division of Preservation and Access
- Focus -- preservation of brittle books and serials; preservation of
U.S. newsletters (microfilming projects)
- Grants are made to preserve and provide intellectual access to a
variety of museum, archival, and other unique collections that are
important for the study of American literature, music, history, children's
literature, American Indian, Latin American, African, European and Asian
history and culture.
- Example projects:
(http://www.neh.gov)
- 3 year gift program; final awards due 11/2/98 for 1999
- Part of the American Memory Project
- Purpose -- to create digital collections of primary resources; to
provide a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history
and cultural development of the U.S.
- Audience -- immediate and long-term use to elementary and secondary
schools, colleges, and the general public
- The last round of funds emphasized collections that illustrate
American history and culture from 1492-1920.
- Award amounts -- $75,000 for single institution; $150,000 for
consortium
- For more information:
(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/award)
- Administers grants of the National Historical Publications and
Records Commission
- Types of programs: archival grants; training grants; electronic
records grants; publication grants
- The Commission funds projects that deal with documentary source
materials (i.e. records of state government; manuscripts,
family papers, photographs) that deal with the history of the U.S.
- Amount to be awarded $10 million through 2001
- Application deadlines: June 1 and October 1
- For specifics:
(http://www.nara.gov)
- Administered by the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Infrastructure Administration (NTIA)
- Awards are made to non-profit organizations and state and local
governments.
- Purpose -- innovative yet practical projects using information
technologies
- FY99 Awards -- 43 recipients from over 702 applications; $17.6 million
awarded; must be matched with non-federal funds
- FY2000 -- request for $20 million
- For description of funded projects and application information:
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov)
- A multi-agency research program to create large knowledge bases, the
technology needed to access them, and the means for improving their
usability
- For further information:
(http://www.dli2.nsf.gov)
- Type of grants: Research Support for Individual Researchers, Resource
Support for Information Management; Training for Informatics; Publications
Support
- FAQs regarding the submission of NLM grant applications
- For further information:
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov)
Grant Writing Tips
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- Read the application and accompanying materials throughly; review the
website.
- Follow the directions (especially page limitations, due date, font
size, etc.).
- Beware matching funds (non-federal sources).
- Don't forget the budget justification; explain cost-sharing; include
detailed costs for digitization; vendors, outsourcing, etc.
- Submit all forms; develop early and on-going relationship with Grants
and Contracts Office; plan ahead.
- Careful of Appendices; include those elements that are relevant to the
proposal (i.e. resumés, example of the collection to be digitized)
- Keep it Simple; describe the content of the collection in enough
detail so that someone not familiar with it can make a sensible
determination as to its value for education or research.
- Don't hesitate to call the program officer if you have a question;
for a Foundation Center Grant you will need to develop a collegial
relationship with this person.
Typical Problems with Grant Applications (Pitfalls)
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- Weak or no real evaluation plan
- Goals, Objectives unclear; no Plan of Work
- Methodology is not detailed; include the production process; format
for reproduction; resolution; compression; use of consultants (i.e. who
will do the work)
- Lack of cohesiveness; place your documents/images in historical
context.
- No evidence of prior technical expertise; lessons learned from other
projects
- No representative examples of the collection
- No justification -- why is this collection important to scholars or
the American public?
- No description of intended audience and uses in specific terms;
significance for doctoral students or K-12 teachers
- No discussion of intellectual access -- full-text; subject; catalog?
finding aids?
UMass
HealthNet -- a digital library project funded by the
Hearst Foundation
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- Amount Awarded: $186,000 per year for two years; third year of funding
possible
- Collaborative project to put primary source documents on the web for
access by physicians and patients
- Health information for the layperson; focus on UMass Memorial Health
Care System services and resources in Central and Western Massachusetts
- To visit the site:
(http://healthnet.umassmed.edu)
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