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Division of Preservation and Access

Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota.

50 States of Preservation: Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND

The Plains Art Museum, in Fargo, North Dakota, is one of the upper Midwest’s leading cultural institutions, holding a diverse collection of more than 4,000 works of fine and decorative art, as well...

By Ralph Canevali
Drafting class in the Commercial Arts classroom, IAIA.

50 States of Preservation: Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM

Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Institute of American Indian Arts provides a Native American art and culture-based curriculum to students from across the country.

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum sits on the state line in Bristol TN/VA

50 States of Preservation: Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, TN

This feature is part of a series we call “50 States of Preservation,” in which we are touring small and mid-sized

Interior view of museum with Lorén Spears

50 States of Preservation: Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum in Exeter, Rhode Island

Two NEH Preservation Assistance Grants help the Tomaquag Museum preserve artifacts of Native history and culture and engage communities across the nation.

Books from the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library's 60's collection.

50 States of Preservation: Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, Indianapolis, IN

The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library was founded in 2011 with the mission to champion, “the legacy of Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut and the principles of free expression, common decency, and peaceful coexistence he advocated.”

Traditional children’s games

50 States of Preservation: Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives in Honolulu, Hawaii

An NEH Preservation Assistant Grant helps Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives preserve thousands of documents and artifacts related to Hawaiian history.

The crowning of Queen Nicotina at the Charles County Fair, circa 1955.

50 States of Preservation: Southern Maryland Studies Center at the College of Southern Maryland, in La Plata, MD

Three NEH Preservation Assistance Grants help the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata preserve collections in its Southern Maryland Studies Center spanning 1493 to the present.

Decoration Day Parade (Brownsville, Texas), 1916.

The Evolution of Memorial Day

The Chronicling America database of historic American newspapers shows the fascinating history of Memorial Day--also known as Decoration Day.

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Posted: July 28, 2014

Nevada and South Dakota Join the National Digital Newspaper Program

NEH is pleased to welcome two new partners to the National Digital Newspaper Program this year!  Awards were made to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development to digitize newspapers from Nevada and South Dakota. 

Posted: February 6, 2013

Preservation Assistance Grants 2013 Guidelines Now Available

The 2013 guidelines for Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions are now available.

Posted: February 6, 2013

Preservation and Access Research and Development 2013 Guidelines Now Available

The 2013 guidelines for Preservation and Access Research and Development grants are now available.

Posted: February 6, 2013

Preservation and Access Education and Training 2013 Guidelines Now Available

The 2013 guidelines for Preservation and Access Education and Training grants are now available.

Posted: May 17, 2012

In the News: Amon Carter Museum of American Art

The Amon Carter Museum of American Art's project to digitize the collections of eight prominent American photographers was featured on Dallas Art News.

Posted: May 17, 2012

Foundations: New Funding Category for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant Program

NEH’s Division of Preservation and Access has introduced a new funding opportunity for 2012: Humanities Collections and Reference Resources “Foundations” grants.

Posted: April 25, 2012

SNAC Featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education

The Social Netwroks and Archival Context Project, featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, creates a unique and comprehensive way to research important historical figures.

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Posted: January 6, 2016

Webinar on Documenting Endangered Languages Program at NSF on January 19th

A free and accessible webinar is scheduled for January 19, 2016 at 3 pm EST for the Documenting Endangered Languages Program, which is a joint U.S.

Posted: April 2, 2015

Program Officer Mary Downs to Attend 2015 Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting

NEH Program Officer Mary Downs will be attending the upcoming 2015 Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, April 15-19, and is available to meet with those interested in learning more about NEH funding opportunities.

Posted: December 16, 2014

NEH Program Officer Sarah Lepinski to Attend 2015 Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies

Sarah Lepinski, Program Officer in the Division of Preservation and Access, National Endowment for the Humanities, will be at the upcoming Joint Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies (New Orleans, Jan. 8-11, 2015).

Posted: September 17, 2014

NEH Program Officer Mary Downs to Attend 2014 AASLH Annual Meeting

Mary Downs, Senior Program Officer in the Division of Preservation and Access, National Endowment for the Humanities, will be at the upcoming American Association of State and Local History Annual Meeting

Posted: August 11, 2014

NEH Preservation and Access at the Society of American Archivisits Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Drop by the Networking Café during the Society of American Archivists annual meeting to visit with program officers from CLIR, IMLS, NEH, and NHPRC.

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Posted: March 8, 2017

Common Heritage Awardee Webinar

Common Heritage Awardee webinar title screen.

Senior Program Officer Jesse Johnston introduces NEH’s community archiving grant program, Common Heritage, then discusses basic requirements for administering project awards for new awardees.

Posted: July 3, 2014

Reconnecting the Humanities and Sciences through Preservation and Access

screenshot of video presentation

Program Officers Joel Wurl and Mary Downs consider how the history of science can serve as an especially accommodating bridge between the humanities and scientific disciplines. 

Posted: February 19, 2014

Preservation Assistance Grants Help Small Institutions Across the Country!

Screen capture of Preservation and Access Grants Map

Are you a small institution with a significant humanities collection?  Then you may want to know more about the NEH’s Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions.  Take a look at the map of projects across the country funded through this program!

Posted: November 20, 2013

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Sample image of Vermont Watchman & State Journal newspaper

This video presents lectures from several scholars of historical digital research delivered at the National Digital Newspaper Program Awardee Conference in September 2013.

Posted: November 12, 2013

Preserving the Iraqi Jewish Archive

Iraqi Jewish Archive Exhibit, behind the scenes preservation

In May, 2003, Coalition forces searching the flooded basement of Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad discovered startling evidence of Iraq’s once-vibrant Jewish community.  More than 2,700 books and tens of thousands of documents – wet and moldy – were removed and laid in the sun to dry.

Posted: July 25, 2013

Bdote/Prime Time/Lit & Med/Warrior Scholars

Bdote/Prime Time/Lit & Med/Warrior Scholars, thumb

Want to learn about the Native American history of Minnesota? This video presentation introduces the Bdote Memory Map, an oral history resource on places of importance to the Dakota people.

Posted: May 22, 2013

Making Medieval Modern

Walters Digitization Project, thumb

How is a richly-colored, hand-crafted manuscript from the 9th century transferred to a digital museum catalogue?

The answer can be found at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, where the NEH is funding the digitization of the museum's manuscripts.