Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Deadline: November 16, 2010

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections (SCHC) helps cultural institutions meet the complex challenge of preserving large and diverse holdings of humanities materials for future generations by supporting preventive conservation measures that mitigate deterioration and prolong the useful life of collections.

Libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country are responsible for collections of books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art, and historical objects that facilitate research, strengthen teaching, and provide opportunities for life-long learning in the humanities. To preserve and ensure continued access to such collections, institutions must implement preventive conservation measures, which encompass managing relative humidity, temperature, light and pollutants in collection spaces; providing protective storage enclosures and systems for collections; and safeguarding collections from theft and from natural and man-made disasters.

Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections offers two types of grants: 1. Grants for Planning; 2. Grants for Implementation. The maximum award for planning grants is $40,000, for up to two years. Grants can be made for up to five years for implementation projects, with a maximum award of $400,000.

For more information: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/SCHC.html